Trespass
by ThatisneverThat
Summary: An ex turning up in your life can never turn out to be a good thing, can it? What if you loved them, loved them more than anything, but being with them now was completely out of the question? What would you do then? (Some quite intense themes)
1. Chapter 1

**Because I didn't think 2 stories on the go at once was enough... here's number 3! Different AU to previous, still Danny/Clara... or is it?**

It was the cold patch the other side of the bed that woke her up. Clara opened her eyes and looked at the clock to see it was only 5 minutes before her alarm which she duly switched off and sat up. The floor was cold and uninviting and she was quick to find her slippers and dressing gown, making her way to the bathroom.

Half an hour later - she'd got very good at getting ready for work quickly - Clara was dressed and made up ready. Her bag was already from the night before which meant all she had to do was find out where on earth James had gone.

The mystery was solved soon enough when she got downstairs to the smell of pancakes. Opening the kitchen door she found her fiancé standing over the oven cooking - apron included.

"Very sexy," she grinned as she leant against the door frame.

"I can hardly go to work with batter all down my suit. I thought you might need something to start your term off," he smiled, producing the plate of pancakes.

"Always thoughtful," she kissed him quickly before sitting down. "I thought you'd already gone," she told him.

"I'm just about to," James told her and her smile dropped.

"Can't you just have one? When will you be home?" she held on to his hands but he let go.

"I have an important meeting. I'll be home when it's done," he told her, "I hope your day goes alright." James kissed her once more before disappearing out of the room and soon out of the house. Clara watched him go, sitting down at the table but suddenly not very hungry. They never saw each other anymore, she'd almost forgotten that in the two weeks they'd been away, the two weeks in which he'd proposed. She stared at the ring, spinning it around her finger. It was beautiful, perfect, he knew her well. They were lying on a beach under the stars when he asked… but that was a week ago, now she was sat in the kitchen on her own not knowing when she'd next see him. His work had taken over since he'd got promoted, he took it so seriously - more than he needed to. Clara loved him, that hadn't changed, she just missed him.

Time passed quicker than she'd realised and suddenly it was time to leave. She grabbed her bags and went in to school, preparing herself for a new term.

Her first stop was the staff room, tea was a necessity this morning especially as she never had eaten breakfast. She was quickly pounced on by Grace, one of her colleagues and best friend who was dying to know what had happened and to see the ring.

"Clara it's gorgeous!" she hugged her, "oh he is such a catch," Grace smiled but was a little confused by her friend's reaction. "Are you okay? You don't seem all that happy…"

"Oh no I am, I am, I guess it's just the post-holiday comedown. James really spoilt me these last 2 weeks, I kinda miss just being in his arms," she sighed. "Anyway, have you told anyone?"

"No of course not, it's your news," Grace replied.

"Good, keep it quiet for now yeah? I want to settle in before I make the big announcement," Clara explained, slipping the ring off and putting it in her purse.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine! Honestly, stop worrying, I need a full low down on your holiday later too - lunch?" Clara asked, tea now finally made. Grace agreed and left to go to her classroom. Clara picked her bags back up and made her way to her own room.

The morning went surprisingly well, her classes seemed shockingly happy to be there which made life much easier. She stayed in her room at break, smiling when James text her briefly, _I miss the beach, have a wonderful day x_ x.

"English, who apparently have some sort of rivalry going on with the maths department but that's something I like to keep out of," Clara looked up and saw Mr Armitage stood outside her classroom door which was still open. He was talking to someone but she couldn't work out who, presumably a new teacher… and he definitely caught her looking. "Sorry to disturb you Miss Oswald, oh actually, you'd be great to finish this tour off if you could. Danny is the new maths teacher, I've been showing him around but I need to go and speak to Joseph, if you're not busy?"

"I guess that's alright," Clara stood up and made her way through to the hall. Mr Armitage had already disappeared by the time she got there and suddenly Clara found herself stopping in her tracks. "Danny..." she stared at the man in front of her - instantly recognising him.

"Clara? I had no idea you were working here…" they both looked at each other in shock. "Sorry, I've interrupted you working, I can make my way back if you like?"

"Can you find your way back?" Clara asked raising an eyebrow.

Danny glanced back down the corridor and then looked back, "honestly? Probably not." She chuckled and moved out of the doorway.

"Come on in, I'll let you in on some trade secrets," she smiled and followed him in, shutting the door behind her.

As suggested, Clara told him everything he needed to know about working in the school - the difficult students, the _interesting_ teachers as well as the joys to teach and work with. Breaktime disappeared before they knew it the bell was going and Danny stood up to leave. Clara watched him walk towards the door, unsure whether to speak to him about the obvious elephant in the room. "Danny…" she stood up and he turned around quickly, "it's good to see you." He nodded, smiling and leaving.

#-#-#-#-#

Danny walked back to his room, kicking himself for not saying anything to her. It had been 6 years since they'd last seen each other, since he'd gone to the army, leaving everything behind. Clara was his biggest regret, he should never have let her go so easily and he'd never stopped thinking about writing to her - but the courage never came. Now she was stood right in front of him, but they were 6 years down the line, she could be married for all he knew - he should have checked.

He sat down at his desk as the class filed in, thinking back to the last time they'd seen each other - the day he'd left…

 _She'd been crying, he could see it, but always the strong one she'd wiped them away by the time he came back in from packing the car. Clara stood in his now empty flat, staring at him where he'd stopped just inside the room.  
"I can't do this Danny, I just can't," she told him, looking at the floor. "I can't be sat at home waiting to hear if you're alive or dead, I can't be tied to that," she looked up. "I'm sorry, I know I said I could, but I can't." _

_Danny wasn't surprised, he'd expected this a long time ago but he had hoped they'd survive this. He walked over, taking her arms gently before pulling her into a hug. "I know, it's not fair on you," he rubbed her back. "I guess that makes this goodbye…" they both stood there in silence._

" _It was always goodbye," she replied quietly, "just more permanent than before," she looked up at him. "I'm sorry," Clara told him once more._

" _You're 19 Clara, you shouldn't have to sit and wait for me knowing I may or may not come back. You need to live your life, you have so much to live for. Go travelling like you always wanted, I'm not here to hold you back now," he smiled gently but Clara shook her head._

" _You were never holding me back Danny," she told him, but he stopped her._

" _This was, me going to the army, it's holding you back. I love you, and because I love you I'm going to leave now. The key is on the side, take as long as you need here before you go back. Move on, find something new, someone new. You deserve better," Danny kissed her one last time before turning away and leaving._

It was only when the door slammed shut that he came back around and went back to his lesson.

When lunch came Clara wasn't in her room, at least she wasn't by the time he'd found it again. Thankfully the staff room wasn't far away and he was able to find his way there, lunch in hand. He sat down in the circle of chairs in the centre (which was actually more of a square), opening his salad box.

"That looks distinctly unappetising," he looked up to see a woman he hadn't yet met sit down next to him, "sorry that's a rather rude introduction, I'm Grace Beardman - English. You must be Danny?"

"It is rather," Danny responded, "word spreads fast," he replied.

"In this place, you can't avoid it," she sipped at her coffee, "so how's your first morning been?"

"Brilliant actually, it's a lovely atmosphere here," he told her, "so English then? Aren't we supposed to avoid each other's company or something?"

Grace laughed, nodding a little, "that's the theory. It's a long running thing, nobody is really sure where it started. Anyway, tell me more about yourself."

Danny explained about the army, training to be a teacher and ending up here. It was vague, but it covered the main points without giving away too much.

"Oi you, thought we were meeting outside?" Danny heard Clara's voice and turned around, "oh, hello again," she froze a little as she saw him, he noticed that. Was this going to be awkward forever? He didn't want it to be.

"Sorry, got a little distracted, you two met already then?" they both nodded, "fair enough. Come on let's go, I want to see that ring again," Grace grinned and stood up with Clara shushing her, "see you later!" They both went to leave and Danny's gaze fell to Clara's hand and the ring on her finger. She was engaged, of course she was, any man would be stupid not to have her. Danny sighed, going back to his food and trying to figure out exactly what was going on in his head.

#-#-#-#-#

Clara was vaguely listening to Grace as she started talking about her summer holiday, but her mind was on other things. Danny was back in her life, someone she never thought she would see again - but there he was, sat in the staffroom at her work. They'd said goodbye, it had been final, it had taken her years to get over him but James had been that person to change her. He was a wonderful man, gave her everything she needed and loved her every second of the day. They'd been together 3 years next week and it had been a wonderful 3 years. She loved him, there was no doubt in that.

Danny and her were together for 6 years, they were childhood sweethearts and everyone had expected them to be together forever - they had expected to be together forever, but that had changed when Danny decided to join the army. The fear of losing him was too much, it wasn't something she could go through. She always hated him for putting her through that, but she couldn't tell him - it was his life, not hers to play with. They'd moved on. 6 years ago they'd moved on.

"Oi, Oswald, you listening to me?" she jolted back to the conversation at hand and looked up to Grace, "the new guy - what do you think?"

"Oh he seems alright, I got abandoned with him at break, told him the secrets and all that jazz. You learn anything much?" she asked.

"He used to be in the army, left there and went into teaching - that's about it really. Pretty sure he's single though," she smirked. Clara sat up a little, "what? Don't you think he's attractive?"

"Engaged Grace," Clara grinned, sipping at her drink.

"You can still window shop," she winked, "but that saves any competition," she chuckled. Clara rolled her eyes, "what's that look for?!"

"Nothing, nothing, just don't get drunk and embarrass yourself in front of him this time eh?" Clara replied.

"That was one time!" Grace through a grape at her, "cheeky bugger, anyway, we should get back. You coming to the pub tonight?"

"James is working late so no reason why not," she smiled, "see you later."

#-#-#-#-#

 _Good day? Missing you x_ Clara smiled at the text that came through exactly a minute after the bell went for the end of the day.

 _Not so bad, how's the meeting going? X_ She put her phone down on the desk, going to clean up the classroom.

"Uh, hey…" Clara looked up quickly as she heard the voice at her door and saw Danny stood there. "Sorry, someone said I should come to the pub to meet everyone but I don't really know where I'm going?"

"Oh, well give me 5 minutes and I'm walking over. How was your day?" Clara asked as she organised her shelf.

"Fine thank you, really nice actually, everyone's been really welcoming," he explained before a silence fell over them. "So… how have you been?"

"Good thank you, settled. When did you get back?" she asked.

"A couple of years ago, then I did the training and now… I'm here. I… I thought about contacting you, but I didn't really know how and what to say…" he sounded nervous. Clara looked around.

"It's fine, we said goodbye a long time ago," she told him, "anyway - things have changed."

"I spotted the ring, congratulations," he smiled. "I'm really glad you're happy Clara - I always hoped you'd find someone."

"Thanks," she replied, "and you? Anyone special?"

"Not at the moment, but I've got time," he winked and she laughed - he always could make her laugh.

"Come on you cheeky sod - pub time," she grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

They arrived at the pub and sat down. Danny sat opposite her and Clara sat by Grace who was looking at Danny maybe a little too longingly. They had a drink and chatted as a group, catching up on summers and plans for the term. Danny got to know a few people which relaxed Clara a bit as he wasn't always looking to her for conversation. As time passed Clara got thirsty again and stood up, Grace followed soon after, joining her at the bar and glancing back over at the table.

"He's talking to us a lot don't you think?" she asked, Clara shrugged, paying the barman. "Does he know you're taken?"

"Yep, saw the ring when we were talking earlier. He just knows us that's all Grace, stop over thinking this," she sighed, picking up the drinks and handing Grace hers.

"Who put you in such a bad mood anyway?" she asked.

"Just leave it, please," Clara told her and walked back over sitting down.

"Clara come on," Grace followed, "this isn't like you - what's up?"

"Something wrong?" Danny asked as they sat back down, "Clara? I know that face." That got Grace's attention. Clara put her head in her hands briefly before shaking her head at Danny. "What, what did I do?"

"Forget it, I'm gonna go home," she stood up, picking up her bags and saying goodbye, not offering any explanation to Grace as she left. She hadn't long got outside when there was a tap on her shoulder, "can't you just leave well alone?!" she spun around and saw Danny behind her looking a little shocked.

"What the hell Clara? You didn't tell Grace you knew me?" he asked, "there was no need to snap back there," he kept hold of her arm. Clara glanced down at his hand and then looked up at him.

"I don't know what to say! I don't even know how to react. One minute things are really awkward the next we're laughing, I don't know what I'm meant to do here. We said goodbye, 6 years ago we said goodbye! I moved on Danny, I'm happy… you have to get that, we have to just be colleagues now," she told him.

Danny let go of her arm now, stepping back, "I know, I'm sorry - I really am happy for you. Can we settle for friends?"

"Yeah, I guess friends is okay," she smiled and looked up as Grace came out of the pub. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap in there. Danny and I went to school together, I probably should have mentioned that. We dated for a little while, it's just a bit of a shock," Clara explained, not going into too much detail.

"Well that wasn't what I was expecting," Grace replied, "but fair enough, you could've just told me that. You still gonna go?"

"Yeah, I've got some tidying to do," she told her. "Look I'll see you both tomorrow, I think I need some sleep," Clara sighed, "that and it'd be nice to see James tonight," she smiled. "Night."

#-#-#-#-#

 _Clara shrieked as Danny grabbed her from behind and spun her round. When he finally put her down Clara hit him on the chest, unable to stop herself from smiling a little.  
"What are you doing?! I thought you had athletics practice over lunch?" she asked, slipping an arm around him and moving back where she had been with their friends. _

" _I lasted about 10 minutes but it's freezing out there," he chuckled, "you alright?"_

" _I'm fine, you need warming up?" she put her other arm around him and leant into him. Danny kissed her head softly._

" _Oh get a room you two," Hayley jumped in, it appeared the other had finished whatever they were discussing. "Hey Danny."_

 _Danny loved his friendship group, they were the best thing to ever happen to him. Having Clara as a part of it just perfected it all. Home life wasn't easy, it never had been, but he had the friends to make up for the lack of family. They were 16 now, the end of high school was nearing, change was on the way. It scared him a little, but Clara always told him whatever happened they'd still have each other and she was right. Danny held her as they stood in the circle, chatting away about the morning's lessons and their plans for the weekend. She was smiling with that beautiful smile that had always drawn him to her, laughing discretely and still holding him to warm him up._

" _Oi, you listening?" Clara knocked him gently, bringing him back to reality, "bowling Saturday - you in?"_

" _Of course," he replied, returning to the conversation at hand._

Clara woke up when James came home. She must have fallen asleep on the sofa and only woke when he crouched down beside, shaking her slightly.  
"I'd have left you but it wouldn't have been all that comfortable in the morning," he kissed her head gently. "You were smiling, nice dream?"

"Don't really remember… must have been I guess. How was your meeting?" Clara glanced at the clock, it was just gone 10. "Long one."

"I thought it was never going to end, I'm sorry I'm so late back," he told her, helping her up, "come on, let's go get comfortable."

They climbed into bed, Clara cuddling up to her fiancé and placing a hand on his chest, he rested one arm around her and placed the other on top of hers. "Friday night I'm going to make sure I leave early, I'll be home before you. Date night?"

"Sure, what do you want to do?" she asked.

"My surprise," he replied, "I have a feeling I might be late a couple more times this week, call it an apology."

"James I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to marry you, you don't have to apologise," she told him and he shrugged, telling her he still wanted to treat her. They settled down, Clara smiling thinking how lucky she was, but she also couldn't shake one little thought.

She did know what she was getting into, she agreed to marry him, so why did it bug her so much?


	2. Chapter 2

"Clara you're burning up, you can't go to work in this state," James tried to stop her getting up. "I can work from home today, stay back with you," he sat up in the bed as his attempts failed and Clara got up.

"You're sweet James, but it's Friday. I can manage one day and rest over the weekend," she made her way to the bathroom, ignoring her throbbing head. She jumped in the shower, running it cool to help her cool down a little and then dressed and put enough makeup on to cover how pale she was.

"I'm going to work from home anyway, I really can't be bothered to go in for no reason. Call me if you need anything," he told her, "you really shouldn't be going in."

"You've made that clear enough," she smiled, "have a good day, don't be too lazy," she winked at him before disappearing downstairs and out the door.

She made it through the morning by some miracle, but even Clara had to admit she was beginning to feel pretty bad. She avoided leaving her room over lunch, the idea of seeing food not really appealing. She lay with her head on the desk, eyes closed trying to calm her head down. Clara almost didn't hear her door open, but shot upright when she did notice.

"Where have you been hiding all day?" Danny was standing there. Clara looked at him a little confused, "Grace sent me, she was about to come and find you when a student grabbed her, hence - here I am. No offence, but you look awful."

"Thanks, but I'm fine, just a headache. How are you doing? End of the first week and all that?" Clara asked, rubbing her head.

"Yeah it's going well, I appreciate the support from you guys it's good to know I have friends," he smiled. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I do wish people would stop asking me that," Clara asked, "there are 3 hours left until the weekend, I can make it." Danny nodded. She went to stand up but went dizzy as she did. Danny ran over, grabbing her before she fell. "Stood up too fast…" Clara slurred a little.

"Sure, give me your phone," Danny instructed as he sat her back down.

"No, don't be stupid," she told him.

"Phone! Now!" he held his phone out and Clara sighed, handing it over and unlocking it as she did. "Thank you, now drink that water and I'll be back in 5." He left the room, immediately calling James. What he wanted was to take her home, look after her, but he couldn't do that anymore - it wasn't his call. He glanced back in the room to see Clara lying back on the desk, fragile, it had been a while since he'd seen her like that.

"Hey sweetie how you doing?" Danny almost winced at hearing the man's voice - he shouldn't have been jealous, but he was.

"Sorry, not Clara, I work with her. She's really not well, almost collapsed on me just now, there's no way she's fit to drive home…" Danny explained.

"I'm on the way, I'll be there in 5. Thanks for calling, can you… stay with her?" James sounded really worried, he clearly loved her.

"Sure, we're in her classroom. See you soon," Danny hung up and went back in. "James is on his way."

"Thanks," Clara mumbled, not lifting her head up from the desk. "Why is it so cold in here?" she asked.

Danny looked at her, she was shivering, but it was boiling in her room. "It's not," he replied and put a hand to the one part of her forehead he could reach. "Bloody hell Clara, why on earth did you come in today?!" he sighed, "some things never change." Clara lifted her head slightly to give him a disapproving look. "Like I said," he gestured at her and she rolled her eyes, immediately regretting it as it hurt so much and lay her head back down. Danny watched as she rested, staying with her as he agreed but keeping a distance.

About 10 minutes after he'd hung up the phone there was a knock at the door and James walked in. Danny stood up from where he'd been perched and walked over, Clara had dozed off on her desk by now. "She's got a horrendous fever, when she stood up I had to catch her. I think even she's admitting it's too much now. Sorry, I'm Danny - probably should have said that."

"New maths teacher right? Clara mentioned you'd started. Thank you for looking after her, I'll get her home. Is everything sorted here?" James asked, making his way over to Clara.

"Grace is organising lesson cover, I'll speak to Mr Armitage," Danny opened the door, "see you around," and he left.

Clara woke up as James gently shook her shoulder. She leant into him automatically, letting him help her up and support her to the car. She didn't have the energy to argue anymore, ignoring any glances from students as they headed out. He helped her into his car and she leant against the window once the door was shut. James climbed in the other side and took a look at her. "Clara open your eyes," he put a hand on her arm.

"No. It hurts," she complained, mumbling more than talking now.

"Okay, alright…" he started the car, "just rest there, we're going to the hospital."

#-#-#-#-#

Danny couldn't stop thinking about how fragile she'd looked. It wasn't good, she looked awful. Then he thought about her fiancé. He seemed so concerned about her, the worry in his voice and on his face was evident and Danny couldn't deny that he cared.

"Did James come then?" he looked up and saw Grace had reappeared in the staffroom.

"Yeah, he's taking her home," Danny sat up from where he'd slumped down in the chair.

"Thanks for sorting that, she really wasn't well." Grace sat down near him. "So tell me more about your school days together then, how long is 'a while'?" He knew what she was asking.

"6 years," he replied casually.

"6 years?! Bloody hell… it must be pretty weird working together now then?" Grace wasn't going to stop asking questions that much was clear.

"A little, but it's been a few years - we've both moved on," he picked up his coffee from the table and sipped it.

"Sure about that?" Grace raised an eyebrow, "you looked very worried about her earlier."

"Clara will always mean something to me, but she's engaged now, she's happy. There's nothing more going on, I don't feel that way anymore." At least that's what he told himself. Grace nodded, seemingly accepting that response.

"Good, because James is a good man," she told him sternly.

"Point duly made," he told her, having another sip of his tea and sitting back.

He saw Grace pull her phone out, glancing at the screen once and then looking again, sitting up. Danny could tell something was up and soon enough she looked up at him. "He's taken her to A&E, apparently she's refusing to open her eyes and not talking properly," she looked really concerned - this was her best friend after all. Danny moved over a chair so he was sat by her.

"She will be fine, Clara's strong," he tried to reassure himself as much as her.

"I know… I just wish I'd persuaded her to go home earlier," she sighed. Danny nodded, understanding. "Sorry, I barely know you and I'm practically crying on your shoulder. I bet this wasn't what you expected from a new job."

"It an experience," he replied, "besides, I think we can at least be considered friends." Grace nodded as the bell went for the end of lunch. "Okay?"

"Yeah, thank you. I'll keep you updated," she told him.

"Appreciated. See you later," he replied and went off to his lesson, trying to keep his head on the job.

#-#-#-#-#

James sat by the side of her bed while they waited for results of her tests. He held her hand, stroking the top of it gently and watching her. She was resting now after they'd taken her for scans and blood and all sorts, it was hard to watch. They'd tried to get him to leave while they did everything, but Clara wouldn't let him go. She was scared, they were rushing around but they wouldn't say anything. Grace had text him for an update but there wasn't anything he could say yet.

"Miss Oswald," he looked up to see the doctor had snuck in while he was focused elsewhere. Clara squeezed James' hand to let him know she was awake.

"She's listening," he told them.

"The good news is we have ruled out anything serious. The CT scan was clear and your bloods don't suggest any meningitis. It seems you've got quite a bad infection so we are going to admit you for 24 hours to give you some IV antibiotics and monitor you to make sure nothing worsens. We've organised a bed so they'll be down to transfer you shortly," Clara nodded a little, not speaking. James thanked the doctor before he left.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered a few moments after he'd left.

"No, do not be sorry Clara you have no reason to be. This will all be sorted before you know it and you'll be home. I'll go and fetch you some things when they take you up and I'll stay till visiting hours are up. This will all be fine," he reassured her but soon spotted the tear on her cheek. "Come on now, don't be crying," he wiped it away before leaning over and kissing her head. "It's all going to be okay," she clung on to him now, so scared.

"Tell Grace and Danny, they'll be worried," she added.

"I will call her in a bit. Danny has only known you a week and you've already collapsed on him - poor guy will be getting a complex," he chuckled.

"Mmm…" now wasn't the time to tell him about their past. "Thank you." Her final words before she fell asleep.

#-#-#-#-#

 _Danny waited round the corner from her house for her to appear, he was looking the other direction when she pounced on him from behind. Danny chuckled and spinning around and kissing her softly before adjusting his backpack on his shoulder where it was nearly falling off. "Ready?" he asked._

" _Do we have to go to school, can't we just go and sit somewhere?" she sighed, taking his hand._

" _Excuse me, miss goody two shoes, since when did you talk about skipping school?" Danny asked, nudging her with his hip as a tease._

" _Since everyone decided you're a bad influence on me and started trying to keep us apart," she told him, sounding genuinely upset._

" _And you're going to prove that I'm not a bad influence on you by skiving…" he pointed out and Clara smiled slightly, "my parents are away tonight, tell your Mum you're staying over at a friend's house?"_

" _Sounds wonderful," she stopped quickly to kiss him again, "looking forward to it already."_

 _When the end of school came around they me at the gates, making their way back to his. He let her in, shutting the door behind them. "Freedom at last," he smiled and kissed her softly, "drink? I can raid the wine cupboard?"_

" _Danny we're 15," Clara replied with a small smirk on her face._

" _Mmm we are aren't we…" he giggled and went to the cupboard anyway. "I'm sorry everyone thinks bad of you because of me," Danny told her._

" _They're just talking rubbish, I just wish our parents would stop believing it. Why has this suddenly happened after 2 years? It's not fair," she sighed, pushing herself up to sit on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs a little._

" _2 years eh? You still haven't grown," Clara grabbed a nearby orange and threw it at him, chuckling as it hit his shoulder. "Alright alright point made Oswald," he grinned, pouring two glasses of wine. "Dinner?"_

" _Mmm you cooking?" Danny nodded, "excellent, mind if I go shower?"_

" _Course not, enjoy," he smiled and watched as Clara disappeared upstairs. He hated how this was affecting her, he hated the rumours that were being spread, he hated how much her parents were holding her back. He promised himself in that moment to never let her down, not ever._

Grace had called him to update him on Clara and that left Danny sat on the sofa worrying about her being in hospital. It was stupid, until Monday they hadn't seen or spoken to each other in 6 years and now he was worrying stupid about her. It ran through his mind, constantly eating at him how much he thought about her now. Something had to change…

#-#-#-#-#

James didn't leave until visiting hours ended the previous night, but it was the next morning and she was alone until 2. They'd put her in a side room so she could have the lights off which meant she could finally open her eyes, but the whole experience was a little overwhelming. She stared at the ceiling, thinking over the events of the last 24 hours. James had been right, she should never have gone to work, but she'd ignored him. Plenty of students had questioned if she was alright and she'd just snapped at them, something she never normally did - that should have been warning sign enough. Grace had been checking in on her every 10 minutes, making excuses to come to the door, but Clara hadn't listened, nobody could get her to listen. Nobody that was, except Danny. He knew, he'd always known. When they were younger he would always make her see sense…

 _She was rolling in to self-destruction. Clara had refused to go in to school for weeks, refused to see anyone, even talk to anyone. Friends had been knocking on the door but Clara had always told her Dad to send them away. He'd been trying to get her to go out, but she wouldn't. The loss of her Mum was too much to handle, she didn't know how to process it, she didn't want to. She lay in bed, curled up, the lunch that her Dad had made was sat on the side untouched, she wasn't hungry - hadn't been for weeks. She lay in her own thoughts, fighting the dark ones, trying to focus on the happy memories._

 _The knock on her window made her jump, not least because she was on the first floor of the house. She ignored it initially, but it came again. Eventually she sighed and pushed up out of bed, opening her curtain to see Danny perched on the very small balcony that sat outside her window - it couldn't really be considered a balcony, just a few bars, but none the less - he was there.  
"Hurry up for goodness sake, I can't hold on forever" he told her and Clara, opened the small doors, something she hadn't done in a very long time. Danny jumped over and in to her room, shutting the doors behind him to keep out the cold. _

" _What are you doing here?" Clara asked, going back to sit on her bed, "we have a front door you know?"_

" _Yeah, and you're not letting anyone in it. Hayley told me what happened when she came round," he sat down on the edge of the bed, not getting too close for now. "You can't just throw your friends out, they want to help!"_

" _Nobody can help, nobody knows how," she told him, bringing her knees up to her chest. "Just go Danny."_

" _No, I'm not going anywhere," he wasn't kidding, Clara could see that._

" _Fine," she replied, lying back down and facing away from him._

" _When was the last time you ate?" Danny noticed the untouched sandwiches on the side. Clara shrugged, not speaking. "You look so pale," now he moved over, brushing her hair out of her face. Clara didn't fight it, but she didn't respond either. Danny took a deep breath before speaking again, "your Mum wouldn't want this." He expected a harsh response to this, but she didn't. Instead she sat up again, looking at him._

" _She wouldn't want you here either," she replied, "but I'd still see you," Clara moved over now, leaning against him and suddenly bursting in to tears. "I'm sorry," she told him but Danny shook his head, holding her close._

" _Don't be sorry, you do not have to be sorry, just accept help Clara - let us help you," he rubbed her back softly, letting her cry._

 _She did, for about half an hour, she didn't stop. Danny didn't speak, he just held her, he could tell that she hadn't had a good cry yet and that was something she really needed. Clara looked up when the tears had finally stopped falling and then sat up, resting her head on his shoulder. "Can we go out?" she asked quietly._

" _Of course we can, why don't we go to the café in the park? It's never very busy in there and you can eat something," he told her._

" _Please, I need some fresh air," she replied._

" _You get ready, I'll go speak to your Dad," Clara suddenly looked a little scared, "he knows I'm here Clara, he rang me." Danny explained and she smiled slightly, "he's worried about you too."_

He'd always been the one who could persuade her, everyone knew that, clearly that hadn't changed. It was nice having him back in her life, even if they were just friends now, it had clearly benefited her this week. It was a strange feeling, having him back in her life after all this time, she didn't really know how to feel. 6 years ago she'd let him go, watching him and not knowing if he'd ever return. Until a few days ago she didn't even know that he'd survived, she'd stopped thinking about it. Last night she'd considered telling James all this, but something had stopped her. What would he think? How would he react? Maybe it was better to let him get to know Danny first, after all at the moment he was just grateful that he had persuaded her to leave work. It felt like a huge mess, but at the same time she didn't want to change it.

Her phone went off, she picked it up expected it to be James again, but it wasn't.

' _How you doing?'_ she smiled at the text from Danny.

' _Still alive, thanks to you. Being pumped full of antibiotics,'_ Clara replied.

' _Someone had to persuade you out of there. Everyone was concerned about you x'_ Danny told her, she wasn't really surprised.

' _Nice to know. I appreciate it, but I'm sorry for causing you so much hassle,'_ she felt bad for him really, he'd only been back a week.

' _Don't be stupid, all I did was make a phone call.'_ Clara smiled again, just a phone call… yeah.

' _But it shouldn't be your place anymore, I'm grateful, both James and I are,'_ she added that on at the end after much careful thought, but it shouldn't have needed any thought really.

' _I'm glad. Look after yourself, let me know if there's anything else I can do for you x'_ Clara left it there, putting her phone back down as the light was beginning to hurt her eyes again.

#-#-#-#-#

She got out of hospital on Sunday morning in the end, James picked her up around 10 and drove her home. She felt miles better, almost back to normal and completely fed up of being stuck in a hospital room.  
"I was thinking of getting your colleague a little something to thank him for helping you," James mentioned as they drove back.

"Don't be silly, he only made a phone call," she replied.

"He'd only known you 5 days but he still had the guts to force your phone off you, that deserves respect," Clara chuckled a little, she would have more if the statement had been accurate.

"Still, I'll thank him tomorrow," she told him.

"Alright, and invite him over for dinner if you like, it'd be nice to get to know him - invite Grace too, we haven't had her over in a while," Clara nodded.

"Sure, consider it done. Can we stop off at the shop? I could really do with some decent food tonight - I'm starving," James agreed and diverted appropriately.

When they got home, James cooked up a proper lunch and they sat on the sofa eating and watching the TV. "Have you got all your work done?" she asked, "I guess I interrupted your day on Friday…"

"Don't worry about that, I sorted some stuff yesterday morning. Are you sure you're okay to go in to work tomorrow? I can postpone my meeting if you like?" Clara smiled at his concern.

"I love you, but I feel so much better honestly. Grace already told me she'll help me out tomorrow, don't worry," she told him, putting down her plate as she finished eating and moving to lean against him.

"Alright, but don't overwork yourself - you heard what the doctor said," James kissed her head, putting an arm around her, "you're not allowed to scare me like that again, the thought of losing you…" Clara looked up to him and kissed him gently.

"Don't worry, you don't get rid of me that easily," she took his hand, playing gently with his fingers. This was what she loved about James, he really cared, he really loved her, she was happy.


	3. Chapter 3

Friday came round quickly and Clara got home from work to find James already prepping the food. She put her bags down on the table and went over, smiling at the sight. "I thought you were at work till 5?" Clara asked him, wrapping her arms around him from behind and kissing his neck, "I was going to start all this."

James smiled, turning his head and kissing her quickly before getting back to chopping the onion. "My meeting always finished at 2, I wanted to surprise you," he told her. "You're beautiful, Clara Oswald."

"You flatter me, but I need to shower. Thank you for this, they'll be over at half 5," she told him. James nodded, "don't cry too much now," she giggled and wiped the one tear on his cheek off, kissing the spot quickly before running off upstairs.

She'd only just finished getting ready when Danny and Grace arrived, running down to the door to open it as James was still changing. "Hey! Come on in," she moved out the way for them and took their coats, hanging them up. She offered drinks, pouring them both a glass of wine. "Everything's cooking so we can relax for a while before dinner," she told them and she sat down.

"That was quick work," Grace commented while she sat, "I'm impressed. Especially as you're the one doing the cooking."

"Some things don't change…" Danny commented quietly as he looked round at photos in the room. Clara chucked the cushion from the sofa at him, "what?!"

"Cheeky sod, and you know we can't talk about that…" Clara reminded him, sitting back. Danny threw the cushion back and nodded. "Besides, James is cooking - he got home early. I'm sure you're both grateful," she rolled her eyes.

Grace tapped her on the shoulder, "can we talk outside?" she asked and Clara nodded, a little confused. "Make yourself comfy, James loves talking about his work so just ask about that and you'll be fine," Clara shook her head and followed her out into the garden.

"What do you want?" she asked, "James will be down soon."

"Exactly! You haven't told him you know Danny already?!" Grace hit her shoulder.

"Ow!" Clara reacted even though it wasn't really that hard, "no, I haven't. It doesn't matter does it?"

"That you're hiding the fact your 'new' friend is your ex-boyfriend of 6 years? No of course it doesn't," Grace rolled her eyes and Clara looked down at the floor. "Oh my gosh you still like Danny don't you?!" she suddenly looked up in shock.

"What?! No! We're still friends, he's a good guy but I'm with James now Grace, I love him!" Grace shrugged in response, "Grace don't even start, I didn't want this meal to happen, I didn't want them to meet like this and I wanted to tell James before they did but that got taken out of my hands. I can't tell him tonight, that's not fair on either of them but I will tell him okay? I promise."

"Fine, but you have to tell him soon or he'll start questioning why you left it so long, you have to admit it's beginning to look a little suspicious. I'm not having you getting into that mess Clara," she told her. Clara sighed, nodding.

"I will, I'll tell him Grace but not right now, not with Danny here," Grace seemed to accept this, "What would I do without you?" she asked.

"Probably dead in a ditch somewhere if the other evening is anything to go by," Clara grinned - Grace was probably right. "Come on, before the boys start turning against us."

They made their way back inside to find Danny and James talking happily - something Clara was grateful for. She made her way over, sitting beside him on the sofa. James slipped an arm round her by habit and she rested in to him, waiting for the conversation to finish before she joined in.

"Where have you two been?" James asked, kissing her head.

Clara smiled, "just chatting - you know what we're like," she replied.

James gave her a knowing look, "yeah - these two are a nightmare together so be careful if you're buddying up - people don't tend to fare well." Clara rolled her eyes and hit his stomach.

"Cheeky sod, don't listen to him Danny you'll be fine with us," she winked. "Much better than some of the old'ens."

"You don't _really_ want to be hanging about with Arnold and Linda - that's pretty brutal," Grace chipped in.

"Wait isn't Arnold your boss?" James asked and both Clara and Grace nodded, chuckling.

"Oh my gosh what have you been up to?" he asked and Clara shrugged, "on second thoughts just don't tell me. I will second that he's a bit of a of a grump though, never make me sit next to him at one of those dinners again." James grinned and stood up. "I'm gonna check on dinner. Sure you're okay?" Clara smiled, nodding and James left.

"He's a pretty great guy," Danny spoke once he'd left the room. Clara shifted herself to sit up now he'd gone. "You've done really well for yourself, it's great."

"Thanks, he is pretty fab. Wait till you taste the food, his cooking skills are to die for - Grace will concur," Clara stood up.

"Mmm she's right - he's an amazing cook," Grace agreed, "unlike Clara. That's why I checked who was cooking before I came."

"Okay look it was _one_ time - one time! Will you two ever let it go?" Grace pretended to think about that for a moment, "alright point made. You guys want another drink? Same again?" they both nodded. "I'll be right back," she took their glasses and went off to the kitchen.

James looked round, smiling when she walked in, "wine's on the side. You okay? Danny seems nice. I hope he knows what he's getting himself in to though," he grinned. Clara rolled her eyes, putting the glasses down on the side and going over to him.

"Yeah he's a good laugh. You're not… worried… you know?" she put an arm around him and James turned to her, almost chuckling at her face. "What? Don't laugh at me!"

"I can see you're just friends. Men and women can be friends, I get that. I love you, I trust you, and I kinda like him too," he smiled. Clara knew she was so lucky, she also knew now would be the best time to tell James the truth… but she didn't.

"I'll have to watch out for you instead then," she grinned and kissed him quickly, "I'd better take these drinks back. Dinner nearly ready?"

"Give me 5," James let her go and she poured the drinks, heading back through to the lounge.

#-#-#-#

Dinner was a pretty great affair. They all chatted and laughed, it was exactly what Clara needed and she was grateful to have her favourite people around her. They all got a few glasses of wine behind them, all except James who couldn't drink because of his antibiotics, as the evening went on and they finally moved back into the lounge after a while.

"This has been so good," Clara flopped down on the sofa beside James, "thanks guys."

"Hey it's just good to see you right again," Grace replied, "plus it'd been far too long since I'd been round so I was beginning to wonder!"

"You know you're always welcome, both of you," James told them just before his phone went off. He pulled it out, "it's Fiona… I'll be back in a sec," he stood up and Clara nodded, glancing at the clock.

"Is she still having boyfriend trouble?" Grace asked and Clara nodded her head a little despairingly.

"She needs to get rid of the guy, but she won't be told," Clara responded, "sorry Danny you haven't got a clue what's going on," she smiled a little, looking round when the door opened and knowing exactly what James was going to say.

"I need to go round, I'm really sorry. I'll be back as soon as I can," he leant down and kissed her quickly.

"Give her a hug from me, I'll see you later," she smiled.

"Oooo wait you'll drive passed my house on the way back won't you? Could I sneak a lift?" Grace stood up, "sorry I have to be up early tomorrow so I should probably get going anyway."

"Sure no problem, Danny?" James looked to him.

"Oh I'll grab a taxi later, don't worry. Thanks for the offer," he smiled. Clara stood up, going over to Grace and hugging her.

"See you Monday, be good," she chuckled and went out the door with James, leaving Clara and Danny in the house.

"I'm gonna start to clean up," Clara stood up but wobbled, falling back down on the sofa. Danny started laughing and she threw a spare cushion at him. "Don't laugh! You know I'm a lightweight," she rolled her eyes. "Come on help me up!" she moaned at him and Danny rolled his eyes, standing up himself and going over, taking her hands to help her, but Clara pulled him down instead, giggling.

"Clara!" he rolled his eyes, moving so he was less on top of her. "Some things never change - especially when it comes to you and alcohol." Clara hit him gently, leaning against him. "Clara…"

"I've missed you," she ignored his warning. "You've always known me better than anyone, always know how to make me smile. I never wanted us to end you know?"

"I know Clara, but we did and-" he told her, stopping when he looked down and saw her looking up at him. Clara kissed him before he could do anything about it, it was nice. He returned the gesture for a moment before seeing sense and pulling away. "No, no…" he stood up, not knowing what to say. Clara had obviously just realised too, her head in her hands. "I'm… I'm gonna go…" he started to make his way out. "I'll see you Monday."

The door closed, Clara still didn't move. What had she been thinking? She'd been watching Danny all evening, it reminded her just how much she did miss him, and as the alcohol took over her brain stopped rationalising that. Then James left, and she lost all her inhibitions. She already regretted it… at least she thought she regretted it. She should regret it. Clara groaned, standing up and starting to clear up - anything to take her mind off him and what had happened.

#-#-#-#-#

Danny shut the door behind him once he was home and sighed loudly. "Clara Oswald you will be the death of me…" he sat down on the sofa and picked up his phone - no messages. Should he text her? Should he wait? What the hell was he meant to do? All that tonight had done was confirmed his worst fear - he still loved her, he still wanted her. Everytime he saw her with James he just wanted her back. There was nothing wrong with James, he was a lovely guy and he clearly treated Clara well. She loved him too, that should have been enough to convince him to let her go, but he couldn't.

 _I'm sorry to ruin a great night, forgive me? See you Monday x_

Danny stared at the text as it came through - ruin it? She had no idea… but at least he knew she did regret it now. He knew he couldn't have her back, he'd have to live with that.

 _Alcohol does strange things. Enjoy your weekend x_

And that was that.

#-#-#-#

Clara spent the rest of the weekend with James, trying not to think about what had happened. They went out to the country park, walking around and chatting about their plans for Christmas even though it seemed a mile off - they just wanted the next holiday to come around.

"Do you really have to go away?" Clara sighed as they got back to the car.

"It's my job Clara, you know I do," James replied, getting into the car.

"I know… it's just been so nice seeing so much of you this week," she sat back as he started to drive home. "Thank you for looking after me."

"I love you, I'll always look after you, but I can't put off this trip forever - they're starting to get impatient. I'll be back in a week, I'm sure you'll keep busy at work," he smiled and Clara nodded, not saying anymore as they drove home.

She woke to an empty bed on Monday morning - James had left very early to catch his plane. Clara headed into work early when she decided home was just too quiet. She didn't expect anyone else to be there, but as she entered the staffroom she saw Danny just making his coffee. Clara froze for a moment, trying to decide whether to leave but he interrupted her decision making process.

"Tea?" he asked. Clara nodded slowly, finally shutting the door and putting her bag down on a chair. "How come you're here so early?"

"I could ask you the same question," she pointed out.

"It's my assessment today - seeing how I'm getting on and all that jazz. Just wanted to get some prep in," he told her, handing her the tea.

"Thanks," she took the tea from him, "I just got bored of being at home. James is away this week with work so I'm home alone. Sometimes work is more appealing," she chuckled a little. "Listen, if you need a hand with anything this morning I'm free?"

"Actually it'd be really good for someone to look over my paperwork, if it's not too much trouble I just want to make sure I have everything… I'm possibly a little more nervous than I thought," he smiled a little and Clara suddenly forgot all her nerves, chuckling at him.

"Danny Pink, soldier extreme, nervous of a teaching assessment? Of course I'll have a look. Is it in here?" she asked and Danny nodded as he sipped his coffee.

"Over on the table," he gestured towards it and they made their way over, sitting down. Clara started to flick through his work, smiling as she read his lesson plans. "Clara about the other night…" she kept reading, not looking up, "forgotten?"

"Yeah, of course," she told him, still not looking up. "I'm sorry." Danny put a hand on her arm and Clara looked up.

"Don't be sorry, a long time ago we had a great thing going on, but you've got a new life now, I like us being friends, I like having you in my life again, but friends is as far as it goes now," Danny squeezed her arm gently and Clara pulled away gently.

"This all looks really good, but I shouldn't be surprised you're a really good teacher," she changed the subject. "You'll ace this assessment." She pushed the folder back across to him. "I'd better go," Clara said but she didn't move. Danny watched her, trying to work out what was going on in her mind.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Clara?"

"Sorry, it's nothing, I just…" she looked over at him, "I really have missed you, that part wasn't the alcohol talking." Clara twisted round on her chair and looked at him, "this is so much harder than it should be." She sighed softly and Danny took her hands.

"We'll settle into it, I've had a real laugh with you and Grace the last couple of weeks so let's not lose that, it's good," he told her. Clara nodded but looked up in his eyes and couldn't reply. They kept contact for a few moments, only realising how close they'd got when the door opened behind them and they jumped back. Clara stood up quickly and picked up her bag and her tea, quickly walking out leaving Grace looking confused in the doorway.

"What did you do?" she asked, looking at Danny. "Why are you even already here?"

"I came in to prep for my assessment, Clara was just looking over my work," Danny told her, not wanting to explain why she'd stormed out. "We'd just finished that's all," he told her.

"Hmm," Grace looked at him, knowing there was something he wasn't telling her. She quickly made her way back out and round the corner to Clara's room where she was rushing round tidying things that didn't need tidying. "Clara," she spoke but she didn't stop. Grace walked over, standing in front of her. "Clara. Stop. What the hell is going on?"

"I still love him!" she almost screamed, sweeping her hand across the desk and knocking a few books onto the floor, but she didn't move to pick them up and instead put her head in her hands. "I'm so confused, I don't know what to do Grace," she couldn't help but start crying and Grace quickly pulled her into a hug.

"Oh darling, this was always going to be dangerous," she rubbed her back.

"You have no idea…" she sighed and they stood back, "I kissed him, after you left on Friday. I was weak, the alcohol probably didn't help, but I don't regret it anywhere near as much as I should. But I love James so much, we had the most wonderful weekend together. Danny was in my past, I'd moved on, but now…" Grace stopped her and took her hand, holding it up and forcing Clara to look at the ring.

"Look at this, you agreed to marry James only a few weeks ago. He's taken so much time off work to look after you recently, when you were ill he was so concerned. He's a great guy Clara, don't throw it all away," Grace told her. She was right, Clara knew she was right. "Danny left before…"

"I left him," Clara spoke quietly and Grace looked a little shocked, "I left him because I couldn't cope with the not knowing when he was away. I never wanted to leave him, he never wanted me to leave, but he accepted it."

"Okay, but it's still in the past Clara - you said yourself, you moved on. Just a couple of weeks ago you were completely happy with your life," Clara looked down at the floor, "weren't you?"

"Yes! Of course I was," she looked up again, now wasn't the time to tell Grace she'd been having doubts. "We had the most wonderful summer, he treats me so well."

"He's a dream of a husband, you're completely set darling. I know it's hard seeing Danny again but you can't be more than friends," Grace took Clara's hand, "you always know where I am sweetheart, if you ever need to talk."

"I don't deserve you," she smiled and pulled her in for a hug briefly. "I have a question, now's as good a time as any. Will you be my maid of honour?" Grace smiled widely, hugging her again.

"Yes! Of course I will. Oh wow I have so many ideas for your hen do already, just you wait!" she grinned.

"I'm concerned, but I trust you," Clara glanced up at the clock, "damn nearly time for lift off. See you later yeah?" Grace nodded, leaving her to it as the day began.

#-#-#-#

Danny looked for Clara at lunch but she was nowhere to be found. She didn't go to the pub after work either, something that surprised him considering she was home alone. He text her, asking if she was okay, but she didn't reply. When he asked Grace she would only say that Clara was busy.

 _I know you're busy, I just wanted to apologise for this morning. I meant what I said, I'm enjoying being your friend. I hope that can continue. Xx_

He kept watching his phone but she still didn't reply. It worried him, Clara shutting herself away wasn't a good sign, but it was only one day - she could have just been tired. There was no point in pushing it, so he finally gave up and put his phone away.

The next day when he arrived in work Danny noticed she wasn't in the staffroom and when the meeting began she crept in the back, standing in the corner and leaving as soon as it was over, only speaking briefly to Grace. Danny went over to her once Clara had left and took her aside.

"I know she'll have spoken to you, you're her best friend. What's going on? I'm concerned," Danny asked.

"I'm sure you are Danny, but this isn't your place anymore. Clara needs some distance, you're a lovely guy but it's just not going to work out well you being around all the time. I'm sorry, maybe in time…" Grace sighed, walking away. Danny watched her go, he wasn't really surprised. He made his way to his classroom, walking by Clara's and glancing in to see her with a pupil helping them. She was in her element, a wonderful teacher as Danny had always told her she would be. But this wasn't his place - Grace was right - it was another man's job to look after her now, at least to the extent he wanted to.

They didn't speak for the rest of the week at all. Clara spent a little more time in the staffroom but Danny accepted her wishes and kept away, spending more time with his own department instead. Occasionally he would look over - she seemed okay, usually smiling, but he wondered how well she was coping being home alone all week. Sure she was an adult now, but he also knew how much she hated being alone in a house. There was nothing he could do anyway, decision had been made. Now all Danny could do was sit and watch her slip through his fingers.


	4. Chapter 4

The last thing Danny was expecting at half 9 on Friday night was a knock on his door, but he'd definitely heard it. He stood up, walking over and looking through the peephole, surprised at who was outside. Danny flicked the chain off and opened the door quickly, suddenly realising how upset Clara looked.

"Clara what's happened?!" he asked, letting her in and shutting the door.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know where to go, James is on his flight so I can't contact him and Grace is out with her family," she sounded panicked.

"What's going on? What's happened?" he asked. Clara took her coat off and Danny suddenly spotted the bruise on her cheek.

"I was round my Dad's and I ended up having a huge argument with Linda and-" Danny looked confused, "she's my dad's wife now. He remarried. Anyway she hates me and we had a huge argument and she pushed me back and I fell and I just ran I couldn't stay but I didn't want to go home," she finally finished and Danny pulled her into a hug instantly and cried gently into his shoulder.

"What did you argue about?" he asked, leading her through to his lounge so they could sit down.

"She just wouldn't shut up, she just kept going on and on asking more and more questions, all of them trying to get at me. She wanted me to do something, she wants me out of their lives - she might have just got her way," Clara pulled her knees up to her chest, "I can't do this anymore, I'm constantly arguing with them both and it's too much," she leant into Danny. "I miss my Mum," she whispered.

Danny put an arm around her, he couldn't not. "So much has happened since I left," he sighed, "you and your Dad used to be so close."

"We don't have a chance to be close anymore," she replied, "Linda has taken him away."

"Does James say anything?" he asked.

Clara shook her head, "I don't take him round, Linda just criticises him and it's not fair for him to go through it as well."

Danny couldn't help but think he'd insist on going with her if it was him, as it was he wanted to go round and give her what for, or maybe her Dad to see sense. It wasn't fair, she was being pushed out of her own family by this witch. Danny was watching her cry into his chest and all he could do was put an arm around her - even that was a little questionable. "I'm so sorry, I wish there was more I could do."

"No I'm sorry," Clara sat up, wiping her eyes, "you shouldn't have to deal with this, I haven't even spoken to you all week I've been avoiding you and then I turn up like this…"

"Clara I don't mind," he told her, moving himself. "We're still friends, I know we needed a few days to work that out but I'm still here for you." He stood up, "let me get you a drink? Wine?"

"Oh just tea or something, I'll have to drive home," she told him.

"Don't be stupid, I'm not sending you home tonight, I have a spare bed you can stay here," he replied, "now what can I get you to drink."

"Are you sure?" Clara asked and Danny just rolled his eyes, "okay okay, white wine would be great, thank you."

"On the way, make yourself at home. I've got an ice pack you can have for your cheek too," Danny told her and disappeared off into the kitchen.

Clara sat curled up on the sofa, looking around the room. It was very neat and tidy - exactly the way Danny had always been. There were very few photos - she wondered if he had any contact with his adoptive parents anymore. She glanced at the clock, it was almost 10 now and she was shattered after the events of the evening, but she didn't want to sleep yet.

Danny came back in with 2 glasses of wine and joined her back on the sofa, handing over the ice pack too.  
"Thanks," Clara smiled a little, "you didn't have to do any of this."

"Yes I did." Danny replied to her without question, something that silently meant a lot to them both. Silence fell over the room for a few minutes, Clara holding the ice to her slightly swollen cheek and both of them sipping at their wine. Danny relented to the silence after a while, flicking the TV on so there was some sort of noise.

They both finished their glasses around the same time and Clara stood up, "refill?" she asked, the first spoken word from either of them in a good 20 minutes.

"Bring the bottle in?" Danny replied and she grinned.

"You know me too well," Clara replied and disappeared into the kitchen.

On her return she refilled both glasses and left the bottle on the table beside the sofa before relaxing back. "So what are your plans this weekend then?" she asked, turning a little to face him.

"Honestly? Pretty much nothing. Probably go for a run tomorrow morning but that's about it if I'm honest. You?" he asked.

"Marking, lesson planning, the usual fun weekend of a teacher," she chuckled, "life is full of joy."

"Oh I can tell, don't shout too loud - everyone will be jealous," he replied.

Conversation picked up from there as they worked their way through the wine bottle. When it was finished, Danny opened a second and they continued to chat away. It was when they finished the third bottle that the atmosphere changed.

"It was horrible seeing you so upset tonight," Danny told her, his inhibitions flying out of the window.

"I'm sorry you had to, but thank you for being here," Clara replied.

"I'm always here, I'm not going anywhere again," he replied, "that was a mistake." Danny looked down at the floor now.

"What happened out there?" Clara asked, something she'd wanted to ask since he returned, "why did you come back?"

Danny paused for a moment before finally responding. "I killed someone," he spoke quietly.

"But wasn't that your job…?" Clara asked innocently.

"Not a soldier Clara," Danny snapped back, immediately feeling bad for doing so, "sorry, but it wasn't. It was an innocent child in the wrong place at the wrong time and it was my bullet." Clara was shocked, she didn't quite know how to respond immediately but as soon as she spotted Danny's tears she put her glass down and pulled him into a hug.

"You're here, so they must have decided it wasn't your fault Danny," she told him, "please don't beat yourself up, you're the kindest person I've ever met - I know you wouldn't hurt a fly if you didn't have to." Clara lifted his chin to make him look at her. "You went out there to serve for your country and you did, for so many years you did that. Now you're back and you're educating young people and that is equally as important and you're equally wonderful at it. I heard how well your assessment went - there's no secrets at school," she smiled - that beautiful loving smile that Danny hadn't seen since he left. His head was spinning, he knew he shouldn't, but he did.

They kissed, neither one breaking it this time, both of them taking the comfort and love that they needed from the interaction. Danny let his hand fall through Clara's hair as her arms draped around his shoulders. It was only when they broke for air that Danny questioned it, "Clara…" he tried to speak but she broke him up with brief further kisses.

"Don't," she told him, "don't say it," and they kissed once more before they sat back, interlocking fingers between them.

"It's late," Danny spoke, looking down at their hands as they stuck together.

"Then we should go to bed," Clara replied, likewise not looking up. Danny stopped moving his fingers at that moment. "I don't mean that, I just… I don't want to be alone," she told him, only now lifting her head, "please."

#-#-#-#

Clara woke to the sound of her phone vibrating by the side of the bed. She opened her eyes and answered it without really looking at the screen.  
"Hello?" she spoke sleepily, the hangover immediately evident to her head.

"Hey! Where are you?" James' voice came from the other end of the phone and Clara immediately sat up in panic, looking around and remembering what had happened the previous night. That woke Danny up and Clara looked around, bringing a finger to her lips to tell him to keep quiet.

"Oh gosh I'm sorry, I meant to be back before you got home…" she looked at the clock - it was just gone 10am. "I ended up staying at my Dad's last night - it got late. I must have forgotten to set the alarm. I'll throw some clothes on and I'll be back in about half an hour?" James accepted that happily enough. "How was your flight?" Clara asked just to add some politeness.

"Yeah it wasn't bad, the drive back from the airport was a little dull though. I'll let you get dressed so you can get back, I've missed you," James sounded so sincere.

Clara looked over to Danny again, "I've missed you too," she replied, unsure who she was speaking to. "I'll see you soon," she hung up quickly before groaning and pulling her knees up, putting her head down. "What the hell am I doing? I just lied…"

Danny sat up, placing a hand on her knee so she'd look up, "go home Clara. Last night you were upset, we both were upset, we comforted each other that was all. We're both still dressed. Go home, be with your fiancé," the word was difficult to get out, "I'll see you on Monday."

She looked up at him once more, "it wasn't the alcohol talking," she told him, "I'd do it all again if I could. I want to."

"But you love James," Danny replied and Clara nodded, "he's your future now."

"Can't you be my present?" she asked, picking his hand up off her knee and kissing it gently, "I don't know how to do this, what I should be doing," she replied. "I just know I can't live without you in my life right now."

Danny considered what she was saying. It was wrong, he knew it was wrong, but she was offering him what he wanted - at least almost what he wanted - would it be so bad if he accepted? Danny moved now so he was kneeling beside her and they slowly moved together again, the kiss more loving than the previous night, speaking all their feelings in one motion. When they moved apart they kept their foreheads together. "If we do this, it needs to be careful Clara," he told her.

"I know," she replied, "I know it does."

"And it stops. Before you get married, we stop. And nothing more than last night," he added, there was no way he could carry on after that, but his heart was screaming at him to take her now while he could. Clara agreed again. "I can't be the person who stops you living your life."

"No Danny, you're the person who makes me live my life," she kissed him once more before standing up. "I have to go." Danny watched as she gathered her things together. "You still run then?" Clara asked as she picked her phone back up from the side to leave. Danny nodded, "fancy running round the woods tomorrow morning about 8? I usually go on a Sunday anyway so…"

"Sure, text me a place," he smiled softly and Clara nodded, leaving before anymore words were spoken.

#-#-#-#

James was making tea when she arrived back and greeted her with the mug as she walked through the door. He kissed her and handed her the mug and Clara smiled gratefully.  
"How was your week then?" she asked, putting her bag down on the sofa.

"Meetings, more meetings, the odd meal out. New York is lovely but not from the inside of an office," he chuckled, "I'm glad to be home though. It's lonely being on your own in a double bed," he replied and Clara smiled a little awkwardly. "I'm sure we can make up for that," he moved a little closer and kissed her softly but Clara pulled back.

"I'll be honest, I'm a little hungover," she told him a little sheepishly, "now probably isn't the best time…"

"I thought you were at your Dad's?" James replied, stroking her hair back and then spotting the bruise on her cheek. "What happened?!"

"Linda happened, then I needed more wine to get through the evening." It wasn't totally a lie, not really.

James looked shocked, "you stayed after she did that?!" Ah…

"It was easier than causing any further argument," she smiled and quickly changed the subject, "anyway I'm home now and you can look after me," she grinned and kissed him. Clara spun away from him and went over to the sofa, sitting down. "Come on, there must be a good film on here we can watch," she flicked the TV on and James joined her. At least a film would mean no further conversation for a couple of hours.

#-#-#-#

Danny tidied up the house alone, not going out for the run as planned given Clara had suggested one tomorrow. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened that morning, he had to convince himself they'd both been sobre. She'd meant it, he'd meant it, they were doing this, and for some reason he couldn't stop smiling about it.

Just as he was about to get the hoover out he heard his phone go from where he'd left it in the kitchen and went through, smiling even further at Clara's name on his screen.

 _Thank you for everything, can't wait for tomorrow. Meet at the river car park at 8? Xx_

Danny hovered his fingers over the screen as he tried to decide how to reply.

 _I'll be there. Thank you too, I've missed you. Hope you're having a good day with James xx_

He put his phone in his pocket, walking through to the lounge but no sooner had he plugged the vacuum cleaner in did his phone go off again.

 _Can we not mention him in our conversations? Make this easier? Xx_

Danny knew what she was saying. However much they both wanted this he had been insistent that Clara didn't give up on what she had and for that to happen Danny had to be a separate part of her life.

 _Noted. See you tomorrow xx_

It did make things easier, and he definitely couldn't wait for tomorrow.

#-#-#-#

Clara had practically fallen asleep on James when the doorbell rang. She glanced at her watch in confusion and sat up.  
"I can get it," James told her, pausing the film on the TV.

"No it's okay, you relax," she smiled and kissed him quickly before standing up and going to the door. When she opened it she found Grace at the door looking a little worse for wear. "What on earth…?"

"I locked myself out…" Clara couldn't help but chuckle a little at her. "Charlie dropped me home and left because she had to take Georgie back too, but I realised I didn't pick up my keys so I had to get a taxi here."

"Exactly how much did you have to drink last night?" Clara asked, moving out of the way to let her in. Grace groaned at the question, leaning against her wall. Clara rolled her eyes, shutting the door. "I'll go and grab my spare, feel free to go into the lounge. Do you need tea?"

"Nah I'll sort myself out at home, thanks though," Clara nodded and let her go into the lounge, going into the drawer in the kitchen to retrieve her key to Grace's house. She went back to the lounge, "you okay if I just drive Grace home? I won't be long."

"No problem, I'll go and pick some food up because we're a little short. I'll go change, see you in a bit?" Clara nodded and James stood up, kissing her quickly before disappearing to change.

"Come on then," Clara gestured to Grace and they went out to the car.

As they were climbing in Grace spoke, "speaking of changing - isn't that what you wore yesterday?"

"Says you," Clara rolled her eyes, shutting the car door and starting the engine.

"Except I went away last night and you were meant to be at home…" Grace raised an eyebrow.

Clara rolled her eyes, "I stayed at my Dad's last night, it got late and I'd had a little too much to drink to drive back," she kept driving towards Grace's house, "and to be totally honest, I couldn't be bothered to change when I got home so we just chilled on the sofa."

"Fair enough, and when are you going to tell me what happened to your cheek?" Grace asked. Clara had hoped she wouldn't notice, but not much got through her best friend.

"Linda," she sighed, "honestly don't ask - it's not worth it."

"So your step-mum hits you and you stay over at her house?! Clara…" Grace hated Linda almost more than Clara did, and constantly berated Clara for not fighting back more. "And if you tell me you did it for your Dad again I'll thump you myself." Clara knew she was joking, but the message was meant to be serious.

"The argument wasn't worth it, honestly," she told her.

"You should have phoned," Grace told her, "did you speak to anyone?" Clara considered her answer to that.

"It was fine Grace, you were busy - and probably drunk - and James was on his flight. I told him this morning, it's fine - honestly!" She smiled to try and reassure Grace as they pulled up to her house.

"Mmm, you're hiding something," Grace commented, "but right now I'm hungover and need a shower so I'll question you more on Monday." Clara didn't bother arguing, just nodding and getting out of the car to open Grace's door.

"Enjoy the rest of your weekend then," she told her, "see you Monday." Clara left her to it, getting back in the car and heading home. Lying to Grace was the last thing she wanted to do, but she knew what she'd think too.

The rest of the day was lovely and relaxed with most of it being spent on the sofa either eating, sleeping or watching TV. Clara lay against James as the evening rolled in, her eyes flicking between open and shut. "We should get to bed sweetheart," James kissed her head, rubbing her arm softly. "You look more shattered than I am," he smiled, standing up and holding out his hand to help her up.

"Mmm thanks for that," she grumbled and stood up, using him even though she didn't really need to and purposefully flopped forward so he had to catch her. James chuckled and quickly swept her up, carrying her upstairs. Clara squealed a little when he did so but quickly settled in, not truly caring right now being so tired.

They got into bed together and James put his arms around her, "you running in the morning?" he asked.

"Mmmm, maybe against my better judgement," she chuckled.

"You know I'm not getting up till you get back right?" he replied and Clara rolled her eyes.

"Oh I know," she chuckled, "I'll text you when I'm on my way back." Clara yawned, "right, sleep," she snuggled down. "Goodnight."

"Night babe," he kissed her head gently and lay down, both of them dropping off.

#-#-#-#

Clara woke up to her alarm and shut it off quickly, looking up to see James still fast asleep. She smiled and managed to untangle herself from him, getting up slowly. She got into her running gear, chucking her hair up and grabbing a couple of energy bars on her way out of the house before driving over to their meeting point.

Danny was already there when she arrived, leaning against the fence and smiling as she parked up beside his car, jumping out.  
"Why did you decide jogging at this time in the morning was a good idea?" Danny asked as she got out. Clara chuckled and walked over to him.

"Because there's nobody else here, you can run in peace," she smiled and started stretching. "London doesn't wake up till at least 10 on a Sunday, it's great." Danny watched her, all of this bringing back memories of when they used to run together. Clara looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing…" he smiled and Clara stood up, moving closer and looking at him suspiciously, "don't give me that look, that's mean, you know I've never been able to resist that look."

"Then don't," she smiled and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him softly. "Ready to run?" Danny couldn't get a word out to reply and ended up just nodding before they set off. They made their way through the woods, ending up chatting casually as they did. Clara slowed down after a little while, stopping when they reached her favourite viewpoint.

"Well it's beautiful up here," Danny caught his breath as they stopped.

"I usually stop up here for a little while," she told him and chucked one of the energy bars to him. Clara leant against the fence, smiling back at him. "You are definitely out of practice," she grinned. "Did you have a good day yesterday?"

"Fairly dull I guess, this is much more fun," he smiled and joined her at the fence, both of them turning to face out at the view. Clara took a couple of steps towards him, resting her head on his shoulder. Danny slipped an arm around her, kissing her head. "Can we make this our time?"

"You read my mind," Clara replied, "this is so relaxing." Danny smiled, playing with the end of her hair. She turned around to face him slowly and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I remember when we used to do this, sneaking away for a run to spend time together at the weekend."

Danny nodded, holding her gently, "just a slightly different situation now," he replied and Clara sighed gently, leaning her head on his chest now.

"Is this too difficult for you?" she asked, looking up. "I don't want to hurt you, I don't want to stop you from doing anything?"

"You could never hurt me," Danny replied, "and if things need to change I'll tell you," he added, "but right now I'm happy." Clara smiled and kissed him gently.

"Good, because I don't want you to go anywhere," she replied. "We're so alone up here, it's just us, we can be whoever we want to be." Clara linked their hands and kissed his softly.

"And who do you want to be for the next hour?" Danny asked quietly and Clara looked up at him, making eye contact.

"Yours," she told him, kissing him slowly as they stood together in the winter sun.


	5. Chapter 5

Clara was setting up her classroom when Danny walked in. She smiled over her shoulder at him and continued putting books down on desks. He was waiting as she got back to the front and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the store cupboard and kissing her softly.  
"I thought we said not at work," Clara replied a little breathlessly when they finally broke apart.

"The school day hasn't technically started yet…" he grinned and stroked her hair back behind her ear. "Are you okay?"

"Absolutely grand thank you," she smiled and brought her hand up to meet his, "couldn't be more perfect."

"Clara you in here?" Grace's voice echoed through the classroom making both of them jump and causing a pile of books to fall off the shelf when they did. Clara froze, biting her lip a little and trying to work out what to do.

"Go! I'll stay in here - shut the door," Danny whispered as quietly as possible and pushed her that direction. Clara brushed her hair back and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

"Sorry, putting books away. You made me jump!" she chuckled slightly nervously, "everything okay?"

"Absolutely, just coming to say hey and thanks for the lift on Saturday, my hangover and I appreciated it greatly," she grinned.

"So what's up with you then? Little miss jumpy," Grace joked and Clara tried to smile.

"Didn't sleep much, it's fine. I could do with a tea though, staffroom?" she suggested - trying to work out how to get Danny out without Grace seeing.

"Definitely - but I thought you were avoiding it before the day started because of you know who?" Grace asked.

"Yeah well, I've had enough time to think about that - moving on is the best way, plus it's depriving me of tea and a week of that is plenty enough," Clara laughed and they both left the room - she made sure to shut the door loudly so he'd know to leave.

Close one.

#-#-#-#

They'd planned to meet up for lunch, but it wasn't entirely going to plan. Clara grabbed her bag and left the room but was immediately stopped by her head of department Adrian.  
"Clara, just the person I was looking for. I'm considering setting up a revision class for the GCSE students. I know it's early but in the past we've found they've said it would be easier if they could have them throughout the year, so I was wondering if you'd be up to helping out with it?" She glanced down at her watch and sighed gently but inaudible to the man currently looking hopeful at her.

"Yes, of course you know I will," she smiled, "sorry I just-"

"Ah fabulous, any chance we could have a chat about the best days and times?" he asked.

"Now isn't really a great time…" she started, "would break tomorrow be okay?"

"Sounds fabulous, see you then," he wandered off and Clara finally got down the corridor. Unfortunately, that was as far as she got for the moment.

"Miss Oswald, is there any chance I could speak to you about the coursework?" One of her year 10 pupils stopped her. Clara turned around to work out who the voice was and smiled.

"Now's not the best time Ellie, you can come and speak to me at the end of the day, or break tomorrow?" she glanced at the clock again. "If you want to email me anything I'll reply as soon as I can." The student appeared happy with that and she finally moved to make it out of the building.

Danny was exactly where he said he'd be, but Clara realised she didn't even know this area of the park existed.  
"How did you even find this place?" Clara asked as she ducked underneath some tree branches to go into the open area where he was sat on the concealed bench.

"Luck, but nobody ever comes in here so we're safe," Danny smiled, "what took you so long anyway?"

"Ergh everyone wanted me today, I'm sorry I got here as soon as I could," she moved a little closer to him as it was pretty cold. "You bought me food then? I'm starving," Danny chuckled and picked the bag up from the floor, handing her sandwiches.

"How was your morning then?" he asked, tucking into his own food.

"Fantastic thank you, I just about managed to persuade Grace I wasn't crazy," she grinned, nudging him slightly.

"I'm so sorry," he grinned, kissing her head softly, "I promise, nothing else at work," Clara nodded. "Sure you're okay?"

"Fine, honestly," she smiled and started on her own food.

#-#-#-#

Weeks went by, they met for lunch every other day and ran every Sunday. Life passed otherwise as normal, very little to report. That was, until one Thursday evening...

She arrived home to find James still not back. He hadn't even warned her today, there was nothing on her phone when she looked. Clara shrugged, chucking her bag down and going through to the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of wine and sitting down in the lounge to do some marking.

When a couple of hours went by with no sign of James Clara decided food would be a good plan and cooked up a quick stir fry, leaving some for him to heat up when he got home. She sat down, picking her pile of books back up and continuing to mark as she ate, the TV on in the background purely to fill the silence.

Clara checked her phone for the nth time to see if he'd answered his messages but there was nothing, at least nothing from James.  
 _'How's your evening?'  
_ Clara smiled at the text from Danny and picked her phone up properly to reply, but she never got round to it as the door opened and she quickly locked her phone, standing up.

"Where the hell have you been?!" She asked, "you didn't say you were going to be late tonight?" When she got into the hall she suddenly realised how awful he looked. "What happened?!" She practically had to catch him before he fell down. "You should have called, I'd have come and got you," Clara managed to help him over to the sofa.

"I don't know, I… don't know," he was confused, really confused, "what time is it?"

"It's almost half 7, why?" she asked, already reaching for her phone.

"Oh… right…" his voice was quiet. He suddenly looked up at her for the first time since she'd got him sat down. "What are you doing?"

"I'm phoning for an ambulance James, you're not right and I've had wine so I can't drive you," she told him, but he grabbed the phone.

"No! No ambulance, I'm fine!" he shouted and Clara almost jumped back. This was very out of character, it was worrying her.

"Okay, alright no ambulance. I'm gonna get you a glass of water, I'll be back in a sec alright?" she stood up and went into the kitchen, shutting the door. She grabbed the landline off the side and dialled Danny's number quickly, trying to hold it together.

"Hello?" Danny answered, she hadn't given him this number.

"It's me," Clara spoke quietly, "I need your help, I don't know what to do," she grabbed a glass from the cupboard.

"Clara what's wrong? Why are you speaking so quietly?" Danny sounded concerned.

"You did some medic training right?" Danny confirmed, "James has just arrived home, I'm not quite sure how he made it in one piece. He almost collapsed on me, he seems really confused - doesn't even know what time it is. I tried to call an ambulance but he took the phone off me and I'm really concerned, he doesn't seem himself and you're the only person I could think of... "

"I'm on my way," Danny told her, "look for any signs of a head injury, try and see how much he remembers of today. Is your door open?"

"Yes, thank you," she told him, "see you soon." Clara hung up and quickly poured the water before taking it through. "How are you feeling? She sat down next to him, resting a hand on his knee.

"I'm fine, I told you, just a bit of a headache," Clara nodded but noted that mentally.

"What happened then? When did you leave work?" she asked casually.

"Oh you know, busy day, lost track of time…" James sipped at the water and Clara noticed his hand shaking.

"Did you eat?" she was trying to work out how to get through to him.

"I…" he couldn't remember. Clara rubbed his leg a little to tell him it was fine. "I must've done, I'm not hungry."

"James this isn't right, I'm really worried about you," she said quietly.

"There's nothing to worry about I told you!" he quickly retaliated just as the front door opened and Danny ran in with another man following him. Clara stood up, "what are you doing here?!"

"James honey calm down, I just called Danny because he has some medical training, I didn't know what else to do," stood back, no idea what to do next.

Danny walked over to her, "this is Jake, he's an ex-army medic, works at St George's - the proper deal. Happened to be round - you picked a good time." He turned round to James, "no ambulance, no hospital for now. Jake is my friend, he's a doctor and he just wants to ask you some questions and take a look at you, is that okay?"

Clara crouched down beside where he was say, "please, just let him take a look? I can leave if you want so it's just you two, if you want me to?"

James sighed and shrugged, "fine, okay he can look on his own, I don't want you or Danny in here." Clara sighed and nodded, not knowing what was going on with him.

"We'll be in the kitchen," she replied and led Danny through to the kitchen, shutting the door again. Danny went to put his arms around her but she shook her head, moving away. "Not now Danny, really not now," she rubbed her head, pacing the room. "I don't understand this, it makes no sense, and I feel awful because I spend hours ranting to myself about him being late again and not even bothering to tell me and I was about to reply to you and then this…" she hit the worktop in anger. "I'm an awful person, I really am," she sighed. "I need you to go, when Jake's done whatever, whatever happens, I need you not to stay. I only rang you because you were the best person for this but it's not right you being here now."

Danny could see how confused she was and accepted it for now, they could talk another time. He forced himself to stand back as she continued to pace the room waiting for news. It was about 10 minutes when Jake came into join them, shutting the door behind him.  
"He needs to go to hospital, there's no way I can avoid that. He needs a CT scan asap, I'm sorry Clara but you're going to have to go against his wishes," Jake addressed her and Clara nodded, not replying immediately.

"What if I make the call?" Danny pushed up, "you promised that _you_ wouldn't phone an ambulance, and Jake promised he wouldn't get them involved… I promised nothing."

"It's worth a shot," Clara told him. "Once they're here you can go, I'm sorry to have dragged you out," she spoke to them both before going back into the lounge, leaving Danny to make the call.

James seemed to be getting tired and Clara knew that wasn't a good thing right now. "Look at me, James, look," she lifted his chin carefully to make him look up, "I'm right here okay? Just know that."

"I know that I can see," he grumbled before the door opened.

"Paramedics!" they called and Clara gestured for them to come in. James immediately pulled away from her.

"You promised!" he shouted and she sighed.

"I didn't make the call James," she replied before turning to the paramedics, "he's confused, agitated and I'm pretty sure he can't remember most of the day. I don't know anymore than that… but he's getting more drowsy."

"Head trauma seems likely. He has a headache, confusion, lack of coordination and personality shift. There's nothing externally obvious, so difficult to establish any cause," Jack had entered the room, "are you okay if we go then Clara?"

"Please, I can deal with it from here," she replied and the guys left.

It took time, persuasion and a small amount of bribery on Clara's part to get James in the ambulance and to hospital. She'd text Grace while they were still at the house and she'd immediately replied saying she'd be there and sure enough, when they went in Grace was there waiting and quickly joined them.

After a brief assessment they took James through to have a scan, something Clara couldn't go in for and so she waited outside with Grace. It was in this sudden moment of calm that her barriers finally broke down.  
"Hey come on now, he's gonna be fine," Grace quickly hugged her, "he's a strong one you know that."

"I should have tried harder to find out why he wasn't back," Clara wiped at her eyes slightly, "if I had…"

"You can't know anything for sure Clara, it's not like he's never been late before," Grace replied. "Stop feeling guilty, I know you, this is not your fault! You have nothing to feel guilty about."

"Oh you reckon?" Clara sighed and released herself from Grace's arms, putting her head in her hands. "I don't know what I want anymore Grace."

"I don't understand…" she replied and Clara took a deep breath before clarifying.

"I don't know who I want anymore," she said, only just loud enough for her friend to hear - and it clearly took a moment for her to work it out.

"Clara…" Grace immediately clicked, "no you haven't…"

"No! Not that…" she played nervously with her hands.

"Then what are you looking so guilty about Clara?!" she sounded a little angry, but mostly concerned.

"We've been spending time together, a lot of time together. We go running together, spend lunches together every other day, it's just about time Grace," she ran a hand through her hair.

Grace grabbed her hand to force Clara to look up at her, "what are you doing?"

"I don't know, I really don't know, but I do know one thing…" Grace waited for a response, "I don't want it to stop," her voice drifted at the end and she looked over to the door of the scanner room. "What's happened to me?"

"You want to know what I think?" Grace asked and Clara nodded, "I think this needs to end before you make a huge mistake." Just as she finished speaking the doors opened and they rushed out with James.

"What's going on?!" Clara stood up and followed them down the corridor.

"He's taken a turn for the worse, we're taking him up to theatre now," the nurse told her, breaking away from the pack to stop and talk to her. "The scan showed he has a bleed on his brain, it needs treating straight away. The surgery will be long, but I can show you where to wait," the nurse explained.

"Clara…" Grace caught up with them.

"Not now Grace! Go home, forget I said anything," Clara quickly ran off.

#-#-#-#

It was a long 5 hours before he got out of theatre and Clara had spent most of it in the same small room with the odd cup of tea and her phone switched off. She stared out of the window in the room at the darkness and waited for any news.

When the nurse came in and told her she could go to him, Clara moved before she'd finished speaking and ran through to the unit, slowing down as she reached the bed. She looked around where the nurse had followed her, suddenly unsure.

"You can touch him, just mind the tubes. I know it looks bad, but it's all there to help him while his body recovers. The doctor will be in soon to explain the surgery," she explained and Clara nodded, sitting down on the chair beside the bed, taking his hand. "I'll give you a moment."

Once the nurse had left Clara leant forward a little, lifting his hand and kissing the back of it softly, "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry," she just kept repeating it, she didn't know what else to say. "Please get better…"

A few minutes later the doctor came in with the nurse from before and Clara stood up, scared of what she might say.  
"Clara right? I'm Miss Halliwell, James' surgeon, please call me Beth," she shook Clara's hand. "The surgery went well, he had a significant bleed on the brain, but we believe we have acted quickly enough. We won't know if there are any lasting effects until he wakes up, but we're hopeful," she explained. "You can stay as much as you need for now, Laura will be around for anything you need, but make sure you look after yourself too, I'm sure your fiancé won't thank us if he wakes to find you in a state." Clara smiled a little.

"Thank you for saving him," she told her, "thank you so much. Please, thank everyone."

"I certainly will, do you have any questions?"

"When will he wake?" she asked.

"Good question, we can't be sure, but we are going to keep him sedated for 48 hours to allow the brain to heal. Then we'll remove the sedation, but we can't predict how long it will be after that before he wakes," Miss Halliwell explained, "we'll monitor his vital signs constantly and we should know when he begins to wake."

"I want to be here when he wakes," Clara looked back over to James, "I don't want him to be alone."

"We will keep you fully informed, but may I suggest if you want to be here then, you go home and get some sleep tonight and tomorrow," she smiled reassuringly, "take some time for yourself to recover from the shock of this. Is there anyone you can call to be with you? Family? Friend?" Clara thought over it for a moment and shook her head.

"I'll be fine," she tried to sound convincing, "you'll call if there's any change?"

"Straight away, but it's unlikely that much will happen in the next 48 hours - he's stable." Clara nodded and went back over, picking up her bag and carefully kissing James' head.

"I'll be back soon, I promise," she stood back up, thanking the staff and heading out. It was only as she left the front entrance she realised she didn't have the car and went off to find a taxi.

The moment she got into bed Clara fell asleep, the effects of all the events having taken it's toll on her. She woke to her alarm, having forgotten to turn it off. She sat up, looking at the clock and sighing. Clara knew she wouldn't get back to sleep now, she also couldn't face sitting in the hospital all day, so she got up.

Clara went into the staffroom and both Grace and Danny stood up, looking at her. She glanced at them both but turned away, going to the kettle to make a drink. The moment her tea was made she left, feeling both of them still watching her intently.

She sat in her room, flicking through emails and trying to focus on something. It wasn't too long before there was a knock at the door - in fact she was a little surprised it hadn't been sooner. Clara made some sort of noise to tell Danny to come in - somehow she knew he'd be first.

"Clara…" he started, shutting the door behind him.

"Don't," she quickly held a hand up, "do not tell me I shouldn't be here, do not tell me to go home. I've slept, I'm fine, there's nothing I can do at the hospital, James is sedated for 48 hours. I need to be working otherwise I'll be useless and I can't be useless right now," she told him, "so no lectures."

"Okay, no lectures, but what's going on Clara? What happened after we left?" he asked, "Grace said you sent her home but she wouldn't say why," Clara was grateful for the end of that sentence.

She didn't want to tell him, she didn't want to talk to him… at least she knew she shouldn't, but she needed someone right now, and suddenly it all hit her at once. "He had a bleed on his brain, they had to operate, he's stable but… it was really serious and…" Danny rushed over and Clara stood up, letting him hold her. "I can't do this anymore," she whispered as her breathing settled.

"I know," Danny replied, not letting go, "I know that."

"No… no you don't," Clara sighed, "I realised something last night-"

The door burst open before she could say anything else and they both jumped back, looking round to see Grace at the door. "I knew it! Clara your fiancé is lying in intensive care and you're here getting off with someone else?!"

"Getting off?! Grace he was just comforting me that's all, it's what friends are for!" Clara shouted back, in no mood to be civil over this.

"Wait she knows?" Danny suddenly clicked.

"Yes she knows, but she doesn't understand," Clara glared at Grace. "If you're not going to be supportive then please just leave me alone!"

"I can't let you do this," Grace replied and walked over to her, "you should both know better."

"You have know idea what I think or feel, you don't understand how awful this all is. This is my compromise, this is all I can do right now," Clara told her. "I came to work to give me something to focus on, not to be attacked and judged by my best friend," Clara grabbed her bag. "I can't do this," she walked out, leaving Danny and Grace staring a little shocked at the door.

"She can't be alone right now, not in this state, she could do anything…" Grace went for the door but Danny stopped her.

"I really don't think you're the best person to go do you? Whatever you think of me right now I know how to deal with Clara like this, I've been here before… sort of. Plus I'm free for the first 2 lessons," he told her and Grace finally relented, knowing he was right. "I only have her best interests at heart, you have to understand that."

Grace didn't reply, just shrugged her shoulders but Danny took that as a start.

He knew exactly where Clara would be and made his way to the park where they would go at lunch. He made his way through the trees into the small opening and sat down on the bench beside Clara who was crying into her knees. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he put an arm round her. "I've just caused you confusion and pain on top of all this, I don't know what to do for the best, you need to tell me."

"Don't leave me," she whispered through her tears and leant into him, "I can't do this without you." Danny nodded, kissing her head. "If this is too hard though…"

"No, Clara we've been through this, that hasn't changed. I'm here, whatever you need I'm here. Let me take you home, you shouldn't be at work."

She didn't have the strength to argue and let Danny guide her back to her car which he drove to her house. This wasn't going to be easy, but at least he seemed to understand.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! Thank you everyone who is reading this, I'm loving writing it. Just so you know, I'm still writing my other two fics Earthly Wonders and Back To School along with this so feel free to check them out (although Earthly Wonders is a bit of a feat, good luck with that, BTS only has a few chapters!) Just click on my author name to check them out.**

Danny woke up and saw Clara still asleep beside him. He hasn't intended on falling asleep there, but she wouldn't let him go last night and he'd dropped off lying on her bed. She still had hold of his arm, sleeping so peacefully that he dare not move. When he'd got back to hers at the end of the school day she'd been crying, and she didn't stop. It brought back all the memories of the days after her Mum died…

 _She ran, she couldn't stop running. It couldn't be true, she couldn't be gone. Her Dad wouldn't talk, her Gran was trying but she couldn't cope with it all so Clara ran._

 _It took a while, Danny's house was miles from the hospital but she eventually arrived and knocked on the door quickly, trying hard not to cry. His Mum opened the door and frowned. "Clara you know what we've said about this," she shook her head but Clara ignored her and pushed by, running up to Danny's room. When she opened the door he stood up, hearing his Mum's shouts from downstairs._

" _Clara what's going on?" he asked and quickly pulled her close._

" _Mum… she died… she's gone…" she just about managed to get out. Danny wanted to ask questions, but he knew now wasn't the time and he just held her as she cried._

" _Danny Pink you know the rules in this house!" his Mum came to the bedroom door._

" _Leave it out, her Mum just died!" he shouted back. "Just leave us, please," he said and guided Clara over to his bed._

 _They lay there together and she just cried. Danny didn't ask any questions, she didn't give any answers, but nothing needed saying. He occasionally stroked her hair back or kissed her head but they generally lay still. She dropped off to sleep about 9, lying on his chest. Danny watched her sleep for a while, his eyes heavy but too scared to close incase something happened. It must have been gone 11 before he finally gave in and shut his eyes, still not really understanding what had happened._

 _He woke to her whimpering in her sleep, she was getting distressed. The clock said 7, he needed to be going to school soon, but he couldn't leave Clara. While thinking about this he realised she was getting more distressed and turned to face her. "Clara, sweetheart, wake up," he gently stroked her hair out of her face. "I'm here, you're safe."_

 _Clara opened her eyes and sat up suddenly, her breathing quick but slowly settling as she realised where she was. "Sorry…"_

" _It's fine, how're you feeling?" he asked, maybe a stupid question._

" _I don't know… numb," she shrugged. "I need to go, Dad doesn't know where I am, I ran from the hospital…" Danny suddenly looked concerned._

" _Clara he'll be frantic!" he told her, sitting up with her._

" _I doubt it," she shrugged, "he's got other things to think about."_

" _Let me take you back, you shouldn't be alone in this state," he didn't care what his parents said about the matter._

" _Maybe I want to be," she told him. "Tell school what's happened, and apologise to your Mum for me." Clara climbed off the bed and picked up her jacket that she'd removed at some point the previous evening. "Don't worry Danny, just carry on - go to school, you don't need this." Before he could reply she'd left, running out of the door._

Clara woke and noticed Danny stood at the window, looking out at the world below. She sat up, watching him for a moment before he noticed and looked round.  
"Morning, how're you doing?" Danny went back over, sitting on the edge of the bed. Clara shrugged.

"You need to get to work," she finally spoke, standing up and grabbing her dressing gown. "I need to get to the hospital."

"I can drive you," Danny walked round to her, "if you need me…"

"Danny what are you going to do? Sit outside ITU all day? Go to work, it's bad enough I'm not there. I'm fine. Thank you for last night, I needed to not be alone. Have a good day," she paused, making eye contact but eventually stepping back and heading for the bathroom. Danny sighed and watched her go, knowing there was no getting through to her right now. He left, but not until he'd sorted her something for breakfast, leaving a note and heading to work.

When he got there Grace was on him in an instant, "you haven't changed, you didn't go home."

"Not here Grace," he replied, looking around the staffroom and noting the multiple people around. "My room," Danny instructed and went out with her. Once they were there he shut the door. "No, I didn't go home. She fell asleep and I physically couldn't move, I wasn't going to wake her."

"And what happened before that?" Grace asked. Danny sighed, shaking his head.

"Can you stop? I get you want to protect Clara, I understand, but so do I," he was getting frustrated at her attitude. "I'm not trying to take her away from James or you, I'm just being a friend."

"Sure, because all friends who went out for 6 years spend secret time together and kiss in the cupboard," Grace shook her head. "Her fiancé is lying in hospital unconscious, you can't take advantage of that!"

"I'm not! Grace I'm letting Clara call the shots. I'm doing nothing that she doesn't want. I just want to support her, that's all. I've been here before, I'm not going to let her make the same mistakes again. When she lost her mother she gave up on everything - everyone. She retreated, ignored everyone, it took me a long time to get her back on track. All we need to do is keep her on track, don't let her give up on everything. That is all I'm doing, I know I can't be _that_ person anymore, but I can use what I know as a friend. I want her to be able to turn to you and James more, but right now she's angry with you and James is unconscious… I'm just doing what I can," he tried his best to explain, but it was difficult to know what to say for the better.

Grace sighed, shaking her head, "I really don't know what I'm meant to do."

"If you'll listen to me, maybe I can help with that," he told her. "She needs us, both of us, to get her through this. She's going up to the hospital, I think the chances of getting her to leave are minimal so we need to make sure she eats and looks after herself. We should take it in turns, she's less likely to get frustrated that way. I was hoping we could sort that out, if you'll give me the time of day?"

Danny waited for a response and Grace had to admit he knew what he was talking about, "alright, that makes sense, but doesn't she still hate me?"

"Hate's a very strong words Grace. She's emotional, doesn't really know what to think at the moment. When she lost her Mum she pushed everyone away, it's already started and I am not letting her go through that again." Danny told her. He continued to explain his plan, asking Grace to go round to Clara's tonight and make sure she ate and slept. "She might fight you, but she will be grateful in the end."

#-#-#-#

Clara stayed by James' bedside all day waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. It wasn't surprising, he was still under sedation until the next day, but the time seemed to be going so slow.

The nurses managed to persuade her to leave about 7 and she was surprised to find Grace sat outside her front door when she got home. "If you're here to give me another lecture I swear…" Clara started but Grace shook her head.

"I'm just here to help. Danny and I spoke this morning, cleared the air. Have you eaten today?" Clara hesitated, "thought not. Come on, let's go inside and sort you out."

She didn't have the energy to argue and Grace could see that, guiding her to the kitchen where Clara sat at the table. "Sit, I'll sort you some food and tea." Grace told her and she nodded, putting her head in her hands. "How is he?"

"Still unconscious. He's under sedation til tomorrow night," she sighed. "This is a mess Grace, what am I meant to do?"

"Stay strong, he'll get through this," she put the kettle on and opened the fridge to see what she was going to make.

"That's not what I meant Grace and you know it," Clara replied. "I was seriously thinking about leaving James."

Grace suddenly shut the fridge door and turned round, "sorry what?!"

"Even before Danny came I was considering it, then he came back and… well, I was reminded what I had with him, what I could really have. James is lovely, he's kind and he does love me, but there's so much you don't know Grace. I think I've stayed in this relationship for the comfort of not being single. He means a lot to me, but long term… I never see him anymore. His work is always more important and I come second to any of that. I love him, I do, but-"

"You love Danny more," Grace finished off for her and sat down beside her, putting tea down for her. Clara nodded, a little scared of how her friend was going to react to this information. To her surprise Grace put an arm around her. "I can see that. If I'm honest I noticed you losing heart towards the holiday but you came back so much more positive. I wanted it to work for you, James is the perfect man from a distance, where maybe Danny isn't. But up close… he really cares about you Clara, he knows you better than anyone and he hasn't seen you in years. I'm sorry I didn't see it before. The way he spoke to me earlier, he was willing to give anything to see you happy."

"But I can't leave James now can I? If I do I'm just going to be the woman who left her poorly fiancé. I can't leave him to deal with this alone," she told Grace, tears rolling slowly down her cheeks.

"Be there for him, help him get through this, wait until the time is right," she replied. "You had an arrangement with Danny. I won't tell if you won't."

"What If there's never a right time? We don't know what's going to happen when he wakes up."

"We cross that bridge when we come to it," Grace told her. "But I won't let you be trapped where you're not happy." She looked up at the clock, "ring Danny, you need him right now. I'll make you dinner and go when he's arrived." Clara opened her mouth to argue but Grace was quick to stop her, "I know you want him here. Ring him, or I will."

She was persistent and in the end Clara did pull out her phone and call Danny. Grace cooked up dinner and they chatted about menial things until he arrived. When the doorbell went Grace turned the heat down on the cooker and went to answer the door.

"Oh, I didn't think you were still here," Danny looked a little awkward.

"It's fine, I told Clara to ring you. I get it, I understand all of this. Clara needs to tell you some things but right now she just needs you here. Dinner is on the stove, feel free to help yourself I made plenty. See you tomorrow?" she asked.

"Sure, thank you Grace," he replied and let her out of the door before he shut it and made his way through to the kitchen where he found Clara with her head still in her hands. "Oh babe," he went over and ran a hand over her hair. She quickly sat up and leant into him and Danny rested his arms around her carefully. "It is all going to be alright sweetheart," he told her. "Let me sort out this food." Clara nodded and let go. Danny grabbed plates and served up dinner before joining her at the table.

They ate in silence. Clara was actually very hungry but it took her a while to eat it. She finished up, putting her fork down and taking a deep breath. "I wanted to leave him," she finally spoke and Danny looked up to her. "I want you, I need you. I love James, but I'm not happy anymore. I think you know that, even if neither of us ever said it." Danny didn't know what to say, but Clara continued. "I can't leave him now, everyone will think it's because of what's happened. I can't be that person, he will need support for a while, but Grace told me I shouldn't let you go and she's right. I need you. I'd have been scared to admit it before but not now. I need you more than I ever have, I love you more than I ever have and I want to be with you."

Danny was shocked, but far from upset. "Are you sure?" he asked. Clara nodded and reached across the table for his hand. Danny stood up, keeping their hands connected and walked around. She stood up and he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm right here." Clara leant into him for a moment before stepping back and making eye contact with him, leaning in to kiss him softly.

This was more meaningful than any previous interaction they'd had. This was both of them making a promise to each other. Clara still felt the tears falling down her cheeks silently, but there was comfort in this now. When they broke the kiss their foreheads stayed connected and Danny wiped the tears away carefully with his thumb. No words were spoken, but they both moved out of the kitchen and upstairs to her bedroom. They lay down, holding each other and the rest of the evening was comfort for them both.

#-#-#-#

Clara woke up the next morning and realised she was lying against Danny's bare chest. She didn't feel guilty anymore, not after what Grace had said. Maybe it was still wrong, but she wanted this. This was what made her happy. She looked over at the clock, it was already half 7. Reluctantly she turned back and carefully woke Danny. "Hey, you need to get going…" she spoke quietly.

Danny stirred, opening his eyes and smiling when he saw Clara lying there. "Morning," he kissed her forehead. "What time is it?"

"Just gone half 7, you need to be at work soon," she told him, not actually moving. "I need to get to the hospital too," she added.

"I'll take you," he stroked her hair gently. "You're not alone babe, not anymore."

Clara nodded and took a deep breath before getting up. They both took turns in the shower before going down for a quick breakfast.

Danny drove her to the hospital, "keep me updated. If there's anything you need just let Grace or me know." Danny kissed her gently.

"Thank you. Have a good day at work," she got out the car and grabbed her bag, saying goodbye before making her way up to the unit.

When she got inside the nurse looking after James came straight over. "I was just about to call you. We've reduced the sedation this morning and he's already beginning to come round - he's already breathing for himself. Still groggy at the moment but it's a fantastic sign," she told Clara who smiled weakly and followed her over to his bedside. "Stay with him, just be aware when he comes round fully we may have to push you out of the way to sort things out." Clara nodded and sat down by the bed, taking his hand gently.

"I'm right here," she squeezed his hand. "You're gonna be fine, I know you are, but whatever you need I am here.

"Work…" he managed to get out a little sleepily. If it had been a different situation she might have hit him there and then, but given she was already going to break his heart it wasn't fair to break his nose as well.

"I called them, they know and it's fine," she told him. He seemed to relax slightly once she said that. No more words were exchanged for hours, Clara just sat there watching for things to happen. James slept a lot, but she was told it was normal.

Danny called at lunch, but she made the phone call quick incase anything changed. When she went back in there were 3 nurses and a doctor round him changing round all the tubes attached to him. Clara could only watch until they stood back and lifted the head of the bed up.

"Things are looking very good, it seems you've been remarkably lucky James. We will have to monitor you for a few days obviously, but I would expect you could be home by the beginning of next week all being well," the doctor explained and turned to Clara, "he will need to take it easy for a couple of weeks."

Clara rolled her eyes, "yeah, that'll be fun…" she looked over to James. "Hear that? Taking it easy."

He looked less than impressed, "when can I get back to work?" he asked the doctor. Clara shook her head, sitting back down beside the bed.

"It'll be at least a month. You'll need signing off as fit to return I'm afraid, but given the seriousness of what's happened you can't be sat in front of screens all day. I'll leave you both to it." He left and Clara looked down, not knowing what to say.

"I can't be off work for a month, I've got so much to do," he complained and she just shook her head.

"James you nearly died, work should be the last thing on your mind!" Clara looked up.

"I don't even remember where I left everything…" he continued.

"Of course you don't, it's a miracle you managed to drive home!" she tried to get her point through.

"I need to phone Pete and-"

Clara stood up now. "Can you just stop talking about work?! I've been out if my mind for days and all you can think about is your bloody office. Some things really don't change do they?" She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm going home, I need to get some work done of my own which I've been neglecting to sit here with you." Clara grabbed her bag. "I'll come back in the morning, you need to sleep anyway. They'll phone me if anything happens." She didn't give James a chance to reply before walking out.

She sat in the hospital cafe for a little while before Danny arrived to pick her up. "What happened?" he asked.

Clara sighed and shook her head, "some things just don't change. I couldn't sit and listen to anymore of him complaining about not being able to go back to work for a month."

"But he's okay right?" Danny asked and Clara nodded.

"He's been lucky apparently, but it was too much in there. It just reminded me exactly why I don't want to be in this anymore,' she sighed. Danny didn't push her anymore and instead took her home.

Clara was true to her word and dug out some marking from her bag while he was in the kitchen. She sat back, losing herself in her GCSE student's coursework. She wasn't actually sure how long it'd been when dinner appeared in front of her on the table.

"You don't have to do that you know?" Danny pointed out.

"I do, it has to be done before Monday," she shrugged and put the papers to one side for now.

"I'm sure there's someone else-" Danny started, but she wasn't having any of that.

"No chance, I do my own work. All James cares about is his work so I'm just returning the favour in this situation," she told him firmly before adding "thank you for dinner."

Danny sat down next to her with his plate, "no problem," he replied and they both ate in relative silence.

"Can we go somewhere?" she asked when they'd finished. "I need to get out."

"Sure, anywhere in particular?" Danny cleared the plates up while waiting for an answer.

"The hill," she replied and Danny looked round.

"Our hill?" he checked with her and she nodded.

"I still go there when I'm stressed. Always have, even since you left," she told him and Danny smiled a little.

"Sure, let's go," he put everything in the dishwasher and set it going quickly. Clara went to grab a jacket to put on, knowing it's be cold out there now, and then they left.

It was only a short drive to the spot - quite a secretive place in the area. It had only been a short walk from both their houses when they were younger and they'd meet there regularly.

Today they both walked up together, it wasn't particularly high, but it gave a good view over the city below. When they reached the top they sat on the ground. Danny slipped his arm around Clara, keeping her close to ensure she didn't get cold. Clara rested her head on his shoulder looking out at the view.

"Been a while since we did this…" Danny spoke quietly into the ever darkening sky.

"I already feel better. It's like an escape up here, nobody else knows and you rarely meet anyone up here. I can be here on my own and nobody will stop me. Being here with you is better though, much better," Clara smiled softly.

Danny couldn't help but keep glancing down at her, she did look so much more relaxed already, but there was one thing playing on his mind. "Last night…"

"Happened. I don't regret it, nor should you. It reminded me why I need you. I love you Danny and as soon as I can I'm getting out so we can do this properly," she told him.

Danny accepted that and kissed her head gently. They didn't need to speak much more that night, just staying close to be with each other.


	7. Chapter 7

Clara did go to the hospital for the rest of the week, but conversation was minimal and she rarely stayed very long. When Sunday came round she had made a decision, this couldn't go on forever.  
"I'm going back to work tomorrow, I can't be off forever. You're okay now, you'll be home in a few days anyway. I'll come after work for a bit, but I'll have marking to do," she told him. The distance between them both was evident now.

"Can't stop you," James replied, "you need to get your life back." Clara resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment about that. "Reckon you could pop into my work and pick up some stuff?"

Clara shook her head, standing up, "you don't stop do you? You're not allowed to work! No ifs or buts, I'm not bending any rules - you need to get better."

"What's going on? With you? You've changed," James replied.

Shrugging, she tried to come up with an answer, "I thought you were going to die, I've sat by your bed for days, you wake up and you've not asked once about me, about what happened. All you talk about is work. At first I blamed what had happened, but then I thought about it, and it's all you ever do recently. I can't do this anymore James, I can't bloody do it!"

Grabbing her bag she immediately left, not even looking back at him as she was scared to see his reaction. James just stared as she went, a little in shock at what had just happened.

She went straight to Grace's as she knew Danny was out with friends and Grace understood. "Woah what's happened?" Grace answered the door to a crying Clara. "Get in here I'll make tea."

Clara walked in, wiping at her eyes but she found she just couldn't stop. "I lost it, I just couldn't handle anymore. He doesn't care about anything but his damn job and I can't take it. I've been trying to so hard to ignore it and get through this but I just can't! How am I meant to handle this until he's better?" she gratefully took the tea from her friend when she'd finished. "It's impossible, but I have to. He doesn't have any family in this country, nobody will be able to help him out until he's back on his feet, but I just walked out on him in hospital Grace - what sort of person does that make me exactly?"

"Someone who knows what they want," Grace replied, "but you know the right thing to do as well. I'll help you out as much as I can, even go in some evenings if you need some 'time away'" she made the quote marks with her fingers as she said it, grinning a little. Clara hit her playfully for the smirk.

"Cheeky sod," Clara answered.

"But you have though right?" Grace asked and Clara blushed. "I knew it!"

"Oh shush you," she smiled, "thank you, I'm sorry I just sprung on you… are you okay?"

They settled into conversation and before she knew it things were much more relaxed. They chatted about work, Grace catching her up on what she'd missed. It was nice to have just a normal conversation for once. Time passed on and they both suddenly spotted how dark it was getting. "Do you want to stay?" Grace asked.

"Nah, I need to get everything together for work. Thank you though, this evening has been really good for me," Clara replied.

"Me too, it's been awhile since we've had an evening like this. Soon yes? Just without the tears maybe," she winked and Clara chuckled a little, nodding.

"I promise no tears next time," she stood up and hugged Grace before saying their goodbyes and heading off.

#-#-#-#

She was driving home, at least she thought she was driving home, but somehow she'd ended up outside Danny's door. Stopping the car, Clara stared out at his house, but she didn't actually get out. It was getting late, he'd be busy, she hadn't told him she was coming, was this fair? She didn't really know, but something was stopping her from leaving.

It made her jump when he knocked on the car window. Clara looked up in panic but relaxed as soon as she realised it was Danny. She wound the window down when he gestured for her to do so. "What are you doing sat out here?"

"I… don't really know how I ended up here, I was aiming for home," she told him honestly.

Danny opened the car door and sat in with her, "easy mistake to make I suppose. Everything okay at the hospital today?"

"Other than shouting at James and walking out on him? Yeah all good," she sighed, "but I've spoken to Grace about that, nothing for you to deal with. Did you have a good day?"

He nodded, reaching over for her hand, "come inside, you feel cold. How long exactly have you been sat out here?"

Clara glanced to the clock, she hadn't even realised time had passed, "ah… maybe an hour? Or… just over?"

"Why didn't you knock?!" he asked, concerned for her. Clara just shrugged, "you look shattered. Come on, we'll get an early night and we can drop into yours on the way to work so you can pick up your bags." She couldn't argue anymore, tiredness was taking over so she grabbed her bag and got out of the car, following Danny inside.

Danny wrapped his arms around her once he'd bought a mug of tea up to her in the bedroom and sat down on the bed. Clara held the tea in her hand but leant against his shoulder, staring at nothing in particular.

"You look shattered," he stroked her hair back as Clara came mentally back into the room, sipping her tea. "Are you sure you're ready to go back to work?"

"I can't take anymore time off and I certainly don't want to spend anymore time in that hospital than I need to. James will be home in a couple of days anyway," she shrugged. A silence fell over them for a moment before she approached the looming question, "I'll have to spend more time at home then, around work I mean." Danny nodded, "you know how I feel about it all, but I have to. He's progressing fast, hopefully it won't be long, and we still have lunchtimes," she sighed - it was a struggle even to convince herself. She felt the kiss on her head and smiled gently.

"I love you, I'll wait as long as you need," he told her, taking her hand as she put her mug down and linking their fingers. He could tell there was something she wasn't saying, "what are you thinking?"

Clara looked down at their hands, playing with his fingers, "I think he knows something is going on," she told him. "I don't want him to find out that way, I don't want him to work it out."

"But we've been so careful," Danny replied.

"Maybe, but I've changed and he knows that. I've never got angry with him like I have been this past week. I can read that man like a book and I'm telling you, he knows something is wrong. I don't want him to find out like this, whatever i keep saying he's been a big part of my life for 2 years now… I think I need to tell him Danny, I think it's time," she was shaking even thinking about it and he was doing her best to try and calm her.

"But what about his recovery Clara? You keep telling me-" he started, but she interrupted.

"He needs to trust me for me to help him. I still want to help him, but I think I need to be honest with him. I can't do this anymore, I'm tired Danny," she turned around now, resting more into him. "I love you, that's all that matters in my head now, it's all I need, but I do care about James and I can't keep lying to him." He ran a hand through her hair soothingly and kissed her head again. Clara moved her head up to look at him and kissed him softly, "you get it right?"

"Of course, none of this has been easy for you and James and I are the ones to blame for that in our own ways," he told her.

"Come with me," she asked, "he won't believe it unless he sees. After work tomorrow, please?"

Danny nodded, "whatever you think is best, I'm here for you," he smiled softly and reassuringly. "Come on, let's get to sleep, it's going to be a long day."

#-#-#-#

Work was long and hard. Clara's mind was constantly thinking about how the evening was going to play out. Danny drove her over to the hospital having picked her up from home after work, but when they arrived she found herself struggling to get out of the car.

"It'll be okay, I'll be right there and he's not strong enough yet to do anything too bad," Danny told her, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "You've faced a room full of year 9s today, you can do anything."

Clara smiled at him, "too true. Okay, let's do this."

They walked up together but without any contact. As they entered his room Clara took a deep breath and put on a smile, she'd already text him to apologise for the previous day so that tension was over. "I bought you a visitor now you're up to it," she commented as Danny walked in behind her.

"Hi there," James spoke to Danny, "nice to see you."

Both of them struggled with that, he certainly was unlikely to say it again, "you too, how you doing?" he asked.

"Ahh getting there, be back up cooking before you know it," James replied. "It's good of you to come."

Clara smiled weakly and moved a little closer to the bed. "James we need to talk," she told him.

"I know, but now isn't really the time given Danny is here." So he didn't know it was Danny then, but he did know something was up.

"I know he's here, that's why we need to talk," she tried again and walked round to sit by him so she was more at his level. "You know I love you and care about you right?"

"Of course I do, but really why are we doing this now?" he asked.

Clara sighed, "I can't do this anymore. I can't lie to you anymore and I definitely can't lie to myself anymore."

"I've never known you to lie to anyone," he pointed out.

"Maybe I'm just really good at it," she shrugged which made James smile and that made the next sentence all the more hard. "I don't like lying, but I have. The thing is, Danny and I have known each other for much longer than you think. We… we dated, for 6 years," he looked genuinely shocked. "It ended years ago when he went into the army and neither of us ever expected to cross paths again but-"

"you still love him." Clara looked up quickly when James spoke. There was sadness in his eyes, but almost acceptance. She opened her mouth to ask how he'd guessed but he already knew what she was going to say. "You keep looking back at him and he hasn't taken his eyes off you since you sat down here." That bought Danny's attention back and Clara realised she hadn't even noticed herself looking back.

"I knew this was ending, we've not been right for a while have we? My job has taken over and you've made that perfectly clear in the last week. That's not going to change, and we can't work with it anymore," he spoke honestly and Clara couldn't quite believe how easy this was. "You deserve someone who can look after you better. I love you, I'll always love you, but it's too late to salvage this now."

There were tears on both their faces as Clara took his hand. "Thank you," she told him, "I'm sorry. I still want to help you, you don't have anyone else to help you at home and I'll be there for that."

"You don't have to-" he started but she shook her head.

"I owe you that much. It won't be long." Clara looked down at their hands and separated them, slowly pulling her ring off and handing it over. "You'll find someone else, I know you will," she stood up. "Call me when the hospital want to kick you out," she smiled. "I'm sorry," she told him once more before leaving with Danny.

"That was the second hardest thing I've ever done," she told him as they walked towards the exit.

"Second hardest? What was the hardest then?" Danny asked.

"Leaving you."

#-#-#-#

Grace was sat in her room when Clara arrived at work on Wednesday. She gave a small hello but went straight to her cupboard to grab some books out. "Oi, Oswald, where's your head at?" she asked, following her in. "You barely said two words to me this week, this is me staging an intervention."

"I'm fine," she mumbled in response, grabbing a pile of textbooks and taking them out to put them out on desks. "I'm also late so I need to get on."

Grace sighed and picked up the rest of the books, going out and helping her set up. "Nice try," she told her when they'd finished. "Now what's going on?"

"It's over. I'm surprised you hadn't already noticed," Clara shrugged and showed her the empty ring finger on her left hand before going over and opening up her laptop on her desk, sitting down. She jumped when the lid was shut on her again and looked up to see Grace glaring at her.

"This is the sort of thing we share! What the hell happened? I mean, I knew it was coming but… when? Why? I thought you were waiting."

She wasn't going to leave it, Clara could see that now, but she really wasn't in the mood. "Yeah, well now I'm not."

"Clara what the hell?! Have I done something?" Grace asked, but Clara was losing her patience.

"No! Now will you please leave me alone?!" she shouted, scaring almost herself but for some reason not able to apologise. Clara finally got what she thought she wanted and sat back once Grace had left, giving into the tears that had been brewing since the morning.

Grace went straight to Danny's room and found him sat in there marking. She shut the door loudly to get his attention, "woah what did I do? I've stayed in my territory I promise," he held his hands up in mock surrender. She rolled her eyes and walked over.

"Clara, what's going on? She told me she ended things with James and I thought this was waiting, now she's barely talking to me and just kicked me out of her classroom. I need an explanation." Grace leant on the desk in front of his and waited for a reply.

Danny sighed and shut the lid to his laptop, sitting back, "I knew she shouldn't be in today. Everything seemed okay yesterday, but she slept badly last night, I know she feels guilty. I can't seem to get through to her that it's me that should be the guilty one but she won't listen, keeps fighting me?" he explained. "She couldn't keep up with it anymore. James was driving her mad whenever she was there and I think the guilt of lying was getting to her. Clara wanted to tell him and I said I'd support her whatever. He took it okay, I think he knew it was coming - not sure he expected me, but you know what I mean. It's hurting her, even though it's what she wants. I don't think she realised how much it would upset her."

Grace sighed, it was hurting both of them even though James had been okay. "You're both pains you know that?"

"Oh believe me we know," he replied.

"Glad we've clarified that. I'll give Clara the morning but at lunchtime I want you both in the park."

"Naughty," he smirked and Grace rolled her eyes. "Okay I'll be there. Why exactly?"

"Just do it, and bring food!" Grace called back as she left the room.

When lunchtime came around she was straight into Clara's room to catch her before she disappeared. "You in a better mood now?"

Clara looked up at her apologetically, "I'm sorry about this morning. It's all got a bit much."

"No kidding. Come on, let's get some fresh air, park?" she asked. Clara went to argue but realised Grace was probably right and stood up, grabbing her jacket and following her out.

When they arrived Clara spotted Danny sat on one of the benches a little distance away and went to walk in the other direction. "Excuse me," Grace stopped her, "you just left your fiancé for this man and now you're avoiding him?"

"I was really sharp with him this morning, he's blaming himself for all this," she sighed, "I just don't think he'll want to see me right now."

"Are you actually an idiot?" Grace asked and Clara looked shocked at her. "Just go and talk to the man! Honestly, do I have to do everything for you two? Get over there."

Clara knew she wasn't going to stop until she gave in and eventually nodded, going over to the bench. She looked behind her just before she got to Danny and realised that Grace had disappeared. "Sly bugger!"

"Excuse me?" Danny looked round, "hey! Are you alright? You look… annoyed. Where is Grace?"

"Grace. Right. I think she's played us both," Clara sat down on the bench beside him. "I'm sorry I've been so horrible this morning."

Danny reached over and took her hand, "you're going through a lot, you don't have to go through that alone."

"It's just not fair on you, I don't like seeing you blame yourself," she sighed. "I love you."

"I love you too, and I don't like watching you beat yourself up either surprisingly enough. We will get through this - together. Whatever happens, we will get back to normal life, we'll find it together."

"Together sounds great to me," she smiled, "thank you." Danny squeezed her hand a little before opening the bag and handing her food. "The hospital called earlier, they're keeping James in till next Monday. I was thinking maybe we should do something this weekend? Just the two of us?"

"Sounds ideal, why don't you leave that to me?" he asked and Clara smiled, kissing him quickly. "I'll take that as a yes. Now we'd better eat else we'll run out of time."

#-#-#-#

Danny rushed her out of school on Friday night, barely letting bet tidy the room. "What's the rush?"

"I want as much time with you as I can get," he grinned. Clara was sure people must have noticed them spending more time together, but nobody had commented. They'd travelled in together that morning, car packed so that they could leave straight away. Thankfully nobody had spotted that in either direction and they were soon on their way.

Danny was driving and he wouldn't say where they were going. Clara had tried to get it out of him but that wasn't happening. "I told you, surprise."

"Ergh you don't change do you?" she complained jokingly. "Are you alright? You seem quiet."

He was focussed on driving, but Clara could see there was something bothering him. "I'm just still getting used to the idea that you're mine again. I don't want to mess it up again."

"You didn't mess it up last time Danny, our lives went separate ways. We both thought we could move on but we couldn't. This is it now, we can start fresh. I love you," she smiled and rubbed his knee gently as he was driving.

"Love you too," he grabbed her hand from his knee carefully and kissed it without looking away from the road. Clara smiled, watching him focussing on the journey ahead and slightly unsure how metaphorical it was.

She ended up falling asleep, only waking up when Danny rubbed her shoulder. "Hey sleepyhead," he told her. "We're here love."

"Where is here?" she asked while she woke up.

"Open your eyes and you'll see," he chuckled and Clara groaned, eventually opening them.

"Oh wow… it's beautiful!" she commented at the building in front of her. "Spa?"

"Spot on," he smiled, "you need to relax, we both do."

Clara undid her belt and leant over to kiss him, "how did I ever cope without you?" she asked and Danny chuckled. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. Come on, let's go and check in," he told her and jumped out of the car before she could question anymore.

They got to their room and Clara opened the door to see a huge space, "this must have been ridiculously expensive Danny," she said as she walked around. "There's a balcony with a hot tub and a jacuzzi in the bathroom, blimey. You really didn't have to."

"I did and I have so hush," he caught up with her looking out of the balcony doors, putting his arms around her from behind and resting his head down on her shoulder so he could whisper. "Why don't you get changed and we can make good use of this hot tub?"

Clara felt a shiver down her spine, had he always sounded this hot? "Sounds wonderful," she kissed him softly before disappearing off to change.

#-#-#-#

Danny woke up the next morning and looked down at Clara lying on his chest, smiling at the thought that this sight would be much more permanent now. The bedsheets were a mess around them but that only made him smile more.

Reaching over to the drawer by the bed he opened it to check the box he had put in there was still there, opening it with his one spare hand to check it.

"What you doing?" Danny almost jumped at her voice and shut the drawer, looking round. "You look like a rabbit caught in the headlights!" Clara chuckled at his face.

"You just startled me," he replied, "I was just putting something away, how did you sleep?" Danny made sure to change the topic.

"Better than I've slept for months," she smiled up at him, "what time is it?"

"Just gone 9, we should go for breakfast and then… well, whatever you want really," he played with her hair, "what do you fancy?"

"Honestly? I just want to relax with you, maybe swim a little?" Clara told him and Danny nodded, kissing her head.

"Sounds perfect," Danny sat up, "come on then."

After breakfast they went straight to the pool. Clara lowered her into the water and immediately leant back, floating on her back. "This is so relaxing," she smiled, "you look very hot in your swimming shorts by the way." Danny chuckled as he walked through the water to her, "lie with me, it's really nice."

Danny did lie back and they lay in the water holding hands, "we'll be in the way."

"There's nobody else in the pool yet," Clara grinned, "yeah yeah we'll move when people get in."

"You know what Clara Oswald," Danny started.

"What?"

"We have a lot of time to make up for," he told her.

Clara stood herself up, rubbing her hair back and pulling him up. "This is a pretty good start I assure you," she told him, wrapping her arms around him under the water.

"We can't do this here," he kissed her forehead. "There's a pretty nice hot tub upstairs."

"Mmm that sounds perfect. Let's go make up for lost time."


	8. Chapter 8

That evening after dinner they went back to the pool and swam up and down for a while. Clara stopped after a few lengths, watching as Danny glided back to stop beside her. "I forgot how athletic you are," she grinned and he rolled his eyes. "I'm glad we've done this."

"Me too," he replied, "we should get back up to the room, the pool is closing soon."

Clara nodded, "just another couple of lengths, it's so relaxing," she smiled.

"Alright alright, well I'm gonna go and change. I'll make my way up and get the kettle on?" Clara nodded and took off back into the water as Danny climbed out and went off to change.

He got showered, dried and dressed quickly and went back up to the room, filling up the kettle in the room as promised before going into the drawer and pulling out the box inside. Danny couldn't decide why he was quite so nervous about this, it wasn't a huge thing really, but he wanted it to be. She came in the door a few minutes later and he slipped it in his pocket.

"Not even made the tea yet, I do need to get you trained," she grinned and flopped down on the bed. Danny still hadn't moved from where he was stood, "why are you stood there like a lemon?" Clara asked, chuckling at him. Danny took a deep breath before turning, sitting down on the bed beside her. "Okay you've gone all serious what's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing, it's just… I love you. I really love you, and I want this to be for good this time, I want this to be us. I know the next few weeks will be challenging but I want you to know I'm always here and so-" he paused and pulled the box back out. "This isn't a proposal, it's not the time for that. This is a promise." He opened it to reveal a simple silver ring and removed it from the box. "It's engraved on the inside." Clara was speechless, but looked in the ring and read it.

 _With you forever._

There were tears, she could feel them. "Danny, you didn't have to do this," she wiped at them and leant over to kiss him. "I love you so much."

Danny slipped the ring on the fourth finger of her right hand, lifting her hand up to kiss it gently. "Now I'll make the tea," he smiled and climbed off the bed. Clara found herself still relatively speechless and sat there spinning the ring on her finger slowly. "You alright?" he asked

"Yeah, yeah I really am, I'm just… this week has been a bit of a rollercoaster, I think I'm still getting my head around it to be honest," she smiled when he handed the mug over. "At least I'm not doing it alone." Danny sat down on the bed beside her with his tea and she leant against him, "one more day."

"We'll make the most of it," he smiled, "and we will make the most of whatever else comes to us because we're a team now."

#-#-#-#

Monday was a shock to the system. They went back to work as normal but the end of the day meant it was time to take James back home. Clara went to the hospital and walked into his unit a little scared as it was the first time she had seen him since the break up conversation. Thankfully however as she walked in she realised he seemed really upbeat.  
"Hey, how're you?" James asked when he spotted Clara stood in the corner. "You can come closer you know?"

"Sorry, yeah I'm alright, but more importantly how are you?" she returned the question.

"Doing really well, just about moving about now," he replied.

His physio who was stood at the side writing in his notes popped up now, "he's still a little unsteady though, no stairs or walking outdoors without assistance until you've been signed off, got it?"

"Duly noted," Clara smiled at the physio. James' doctor walked in then and took them through the ins and outs of the discharge. Clara made sure she knew everything before they left but before she knew it they were in the car and back at the place they called home. She helped him into the house and onto the sofa before going to make tea for them both and bringing it in. "How are you feeling?" she asked, joining him on the sofa.

The whole journey home had been relative silence on Clara's part, but she'd listened as James had been through his treatment and recovery which actually was nice to hear. "Yeah good, it's nice to be home to be honest. How about you?"

"Just knackered, long day," she smiled. "It's nice to be back at work though, more of a routine. I'll come back at lunch tomorrow though, and I've already sorted out Wednesday morning to take you to physio." Clara sipped at her tea, glad to be finally sitting down.

"Clara I'll be fine tomorrow, and I can get transport to physio, you don't have to-" Clara shook her head, swallowing the tea she'd just drunk before replying.

"I promised I would and I'm sticking to that. I don't want things to end badly for us, you've been a big part of my life and nothing can take that away," she told him.

"You've found the best man for you now, I'm happy about that, I'm sorry I couldn't provide everything," James told her honestly. "We're too different, you and me."

Clara nodded, leaning against him gently, "thank you for everything."

"You've made me a better person Clara Oswald," he smiled. "I'll always love you, but you deserve Danny. Speaking of which, did you have a good weekend? I assume you spent time together?" Clara smiled, trying not to blush but it wasn't easy.

"Yeah, we just used the time to catch up properly I guess, there's a good few years to deal with," she smiled, but it was awkward discussing him. "Anyway, I'm starving and I can't be bothered to cook. Takeaway?" Clara stood up and grabbed their empty mugs

"Sounds wonderful, I'll sort it om my phone Usual?" Clara paused, it was moments like this that reminded her who they were to each other. "Clara?"

"Yes, sorry, just remembered an email I meant to send I'll be back in a moment," she smiled and went upstairs once she'd put the mugs in the kitchen. She sat down on the bed and looked around at the room. This had been home for a long time now and suddenly she was going to be leaving, maybe as soon as next week, that wasn't going to be as easy as she'd first thought. She jumped when her phone rang in her pocket but pulled it out and answered it when she saw Grace on her screen. "Hey, everything okay?"

"I think that's my question, just making sure you got James back okay," she explained and Clara sighed, "what was that for?"

"He's home, he's fine," she replied.

Unfortunately this wasn't enough to convince Grace, "but?"

"I don't know. I think leaving him is going to be harder than I thought. I still want to, of course I do, I love Danny more than everything but it just feels so wrong. I never thought I would be that woman but I am and he's acting like everything is okay when I know it's not he's just doing it for me. I've known him long enough to know when he's putting on an act…"

"You're doing the right thing for both of you, but that doesn't mean anyone expects it to be easy," Grace reminded her.

"Yes, but does Danny really want me crying over my ex?" Clara pointed out, but Grace was having none of it.

"My god woman you're a nightmare. Danny loves you! He knows you better than even I do and he knows that this is not an easy thing for you to do. I thought the last weekend would've helped you to realise that! Look down at your hand, you showed me the ring earlier now look at it!" She was actually starting to sound like a frustrated mother at this point, "that is his promise to you right? He would never have done that if he wasn't with you 100% through this. Now just go and eat woman!"

"Yes Mum," Clara smiled, "sorry, you sound really fed up with me right now."

"Not fed up, just want you to be happy love. See you tomorrow?"

"Like you'll ever get rid of me."

#-#-#-#

By the time Thursday afternoon came around Clara was shattered. Everyday she'd been up early, worked all day including a trip home at lunch, home and organising everything all evening. She felt like she hadn't stopped since she'd bought James home, but she still refused help. Grace and Danny had both been hassling her to let them help, but she wanted to do it herself.

"You look tired, sit down Clara," James was moving around a little and had found her cleaning the kitchen. "That can wait you know?"

"It's filthy, you should be doing your exercises!" she told him sternly.

"Already done, you've been in here ages," James replied causing Clara to look up at the clock, "yeah, exactly. It's late, you have work tomorrow."

"I'm fine, this needs finishing," Clara kept going. James leant down and grabbed the cloth from her, "hey!"

"Don't fight the injured man!" James grinned, and held the cloth up high. "Bed!" Clara gave him a look but he wasn't relenting, "go."

"I have to get you up first," she pointed out.

"Then I'll come too. Come on." Clara gave in, nodding and going upstairs, following him as he went up slowly.

Clara went to bed herself, no longer sleeping in the same room for obvious reasons. She could only stare at the ceiling, somehow unable to switch her brain off. It was going to be a long night…

She wasn't wrong. The next morning she woke up, but it was clear she hadn't slept long. After organising herself it was time to organise James and no sooner had she done that it was already time to leave, in fact when she got in the car and looked at the clock she was actually running late. By the time she'd parked up at work after a drive full of idiots she was not in the best mood.

Danny was stood outside her room when she walked in and smiled as she walked down the corridor, however that quickly turned to a frown when she completely blanked him and went in, practically throwing her bags down. "Clara?" She didn't respond and instead went into the cupboard to retrieve the books she needed for her first lesson knowing she didn't have much time now. "Hey, what's going on?" Danny followed her up the classroom.

"I'm doing my job, problem with that?" she replied, not even really thinking about what she was saying.

"Yes. You're in a right mood, what's wrong?" Clara kept moving round the room as she organised things. Danny formed a plan before cornering her and forcing her to stop.

"Danny I'm late and I have a complex lesson first thing, if you're going to keep getting in the way will you _please_ -" she spoke but he cut her off with a kiss. "That… that's just mean."

"Shut you up though didn't it?" Danny smiled, "now are you going to tell me what's wrong? For one you are never late to literally anything."

Finally Clara relented and leant into him a little, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to snap I just lost track of time this morning and it gets me so riled up. I shouldn't have taken it out on you I just really didn't need this today."

Danny ran his hand up and down her back gently which relaxed her as it always had done, "it's gonna be fine okay? But you need to relax, you've been so stressed all week with everything you've been doing here and at home, you'll burn out and nobody wants to see that happen." Clara nodded, "now let me help you."

They finished setting up the room and had it ready just in time for the bell going. Danny disappeared but not before promising to bring her tea at break.

Overall the day was made much easier by Danny's occasional visits, but she was not expecting what happened at the end of the day. Clara got to her car to head home but found Grace stood against her driver door until she got close when she stood up. "I'm going back to yours tonight."

"Since when?" Clara asked, starting to load her bags into her boot.

"Since I phoned James and he told me how concerned he is about you. We're staging an intervention," Grace followed her round the back.

"Are you now? And what sort of intervention is this?" she shut the boot and looked at Grace now, but the response came from behind her.

"The kind where you come back to mine for dinner and relax for a few hours," Danny was stood there when she looked round. "Yeah I'm in on this too."

"Sorry but my almost ex, my best friend and my boyfriend are ganging up against me? Is my life a soap opera?" she asked causing them both to laugh at her. "God you two are a nightmare, but I'd never survive without you. I should fill you in with what you'll need to do-" she started to Grace.

"I've got it covered, promise. Go on, get your tired ass to Danny's and I'll see you in the morning."

"Wait, morning?" but Grace had gone before she could answer. "I guess I'll see you at yours…"

Danny chuckled and walked off, not answering really but still making Clara feel better already.

When they got back to his Clara followed him into the house, shutting the door behind her. Danny turned around and kissed her softly, "mmm I've missed that," he smiled, holding her. "Stop stressing, James will be fine with Grace."

Clara looked up apologetically, "I'm sorry, I know it's not what you want me to be thinking about. It's not really what I want to be thinking about either, I'd much rather focus on you," she kissed him back. "No more mentions of him?" Danny nodded.

"Right, dinner. You go put your feet up and I'll be with you shortly."

"Do we have to eat?" Clara kissed him again.

"Yes, you've been skipping meals all week," he told her and Clara blushed. "Yeah I know everything. It won't be long and then we can relax infront of the telly."

"Deal," she smiled and sat down on his sofa. Clara pulled her phone out, texting James.

 _You sneaky so and so, going behind my back like that. Thank you x_

She sent it and put her phone away, flicking the TV on but not really caring what was on as she lay her head back and shut her eyes.

Danny woke her when he brought dinner through, the noise of the tray going down on the table was what disturbed her. "I was gonna put this in the oven to keep warm you looked so peaceful," he smiled, picking the tray back up and handing it to her as she sat back up.

"Mmm I'm kinda hungry so… food then sleep?" she suggested. "This looks gorgeous."

"Just like you," he kissed her head softly before sitting with his own meal.

"Flattery will get you everywhere when I'm less tired," Clara grinned and tucked into her meal.

Danny took the trays back through and the dishes in the dishwasher before returning to the sofa. Clara was quick to move and rest her head on his chest, listening to his breathing as they sat there. It was only now while she was really relaxing that Clara realised how hard she'd been on herself in the last week. Grace and James had been right to intervene however much she hated relinquishing control. It was still weird to think that despite what she was doing to him James still wanted to look after her, it did remind Clara what had attracted her to him in the first place, however lying here with Danny she knew the right decision had been made. He had his arms around her, holding her almost protectively as though she might break into pieces at any time. It bought back memories, good memories and some not so good, but all of them a reminder of his love…

 _Every night Danny came round after school. He'd make sure Clara had eaten and slept. If she hadn't he'd make her dinner or stay with her while she fell asleep. Sometimes he stayed the night, sometimes she'd wake up to find a note on the pillow saying he'd gone to school. One day she woke up with him._

" _I want to come," she sat up and Danny looked at her, "to school, I want to come."_

 _He looked shocked but as always he was supportive. "Alright, you get yourself ready. I'm gonna run home and change and I'll meet you outside yours in an hour?" Clara nodded and Danny kissed her head gently._

 _She hadn't been in weeks. He'd bought home some work but she hadn't looked at a lot of it, but for some reason today the idea of going into sixth form was appealing. Scary, but appealing._

 _True to his word an hour later and Danny was outside and Clara met him, leaving a note on the kitchen side to tell her Dad she'd gone. They walked to school together, Danny checking every few minutes she was still happy to go. She's was fine. The first couple of lessons were fine, but it was break when things changed._

 _Her friends were happy to see her of course they were and they didn't share many lessons so until now Clara hadn't seen them. Danny hadn't yet reappeared from his sports education lesson and so she felt a little exposed. Georgie was the first to spot her and ran over, hugging her tight while Pauline and Hannah followed, also hugging her. Clara smiled, she was happy to see them - they were her friends after all. "Hey," she managed to get out in the shock of the situation._

" _It's been so long, how are you doing? How come you decided to come back?"_

" _Yeah it can't have been easy, we've not heard from you we've been worried."_

" _It can't be easy, I wish there was more we could do. Is there anything we can do?"_

 _Too many questions and Clara didn't know where to start. She felt like she was about to panic when Danny appeared at her side and slipped his arms around her. "One at a time maybe?" he said to the other girls._

" _Yes, sorry Clara," they all said. Clara smiled now she felt a little more at ease, finally answering each of their questions. Danny occasionally squeezed her hand or kissed her head to reassure her more._

" _You're lucky to have him," Pauline said to her and gestured to Danny._

" _More than I've ever realised before all this. I'm sorry I've not been in contact it's just… difficult. I can't promise I'll be back to my usual self but I want to get there so that's why I've come back," she told them._

" _We will get you there," Danny said and she knew he was right._

When she woke it was morning. Clara couldn't remember going to bed or even falling asleep, but she was in bed and Danny was sleeping beside her. She looked over to the clock and saw it was gone 10. When going to sit up she was pulled back down by a sleepy Danny who was mumbling a complaint about her moving. "I need to get home," she told him but couldn't summon the energy to fight him and fell back down beside him.

"No you don't, Grace is staying till 6," he smiled and kissed her softly. "We've got all day and I have no intention of moving anytime soon."

"I should check if she's okay…" Clara went to reach for her phone but Danny rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm.

"Don't even think about it. They're both grown ups, she'd call if there was a problem. Now can I have your full attention for a few hours?" he asked.

Clara smiled and nodded and relaxed back with him. They spent the morning in bed, TV on and arms wrapped round each other. They got up from their paradise at lunchtime when their stomachs were starting to rumble and they had to give in to the need for food. Once Clara had showered and got downstairs Danny had already made them lunch. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Plenty," he smiled, "you deserve more than some stupid sandwiches."

"I've got so much more than that," she smiled and sat down, tucking into the dinner. "I dreamt about us last night, memories more than a dream I guess. When I started back at school after Mum died."

"Ah yes, when your friends nearly suffocated you," Danny chuckled. "They only cared bless them. Do you still talk to any of them?"

Clara nodded and quickly finished what she was eating, "Georgie lives round the corner from here actually, well she's travelling at the moment but she normally does. She's back in 3 weeks."

"She's gonna get a shock," Danny replied and they both thought about that. "Maybe best you speak to her."

"Good plan. That's something for another day however," Clara finished up her sandwich and brushed her hands to get the crumbs off. She took the plates from the table and went to wash up. Danny followed, "I can wash a couple of plates and mugs you know?" she grinned.

"I know," he smiled back and leant against the side, watching her. "You look cute."

"I look a mess," she clarified.

"Never in my eyes," he responded.

"Mmm trying the flattery trick again are we?" Clara gave him a flirtatious look, going in to kiss him but instead pulling her hands out of the washing up water and flinging them at him so he got soaked.

"Oh you are SO dead," he stared at her for a moment before jumping and getting his own hands wet, chasing her round the kitchen with them. Clara managed to dodge him a couple of times but after a couple of laps round the table he managed to catch her, his hands slipping up her top and getting her stomach wet.

"Danny that tickles!" she wriggled away but he pulled her back, picking her up unexpectedly and spinning her round. Clara couldn't stop laughing, eventually settling and resting into him.

"I love hearing you laugh, you're so beautiful," he smiled and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"You can put me down now you know?" she pointed out but Danny shrugged (as best he could with her in his arms).

"Maybe I don't want to," he replied. "Sofa?"

"Perfect."

5.30 came round far too soon and Clara knew she'd have to leave. Reluctantly she sat up and stretched a little. Danny sat up with her. "Don't stress yourself out like that again, talk to me in future okay? And Grace, we are both there to help in our own ways."

"I won't do that again, although if this is the result…" he raised his eyebrows at her, "I know I know. Look, it won't be long till you can look after me as much as you like," she smiled and stood up. "For now however, I have some looking after of my own to do. I'll see you on Monday yeah?"

"You certainly will," he smiled. They said their goodbyes and Clara got in her car and drove back to her own place. When she arrived and walked in the door she quickly realised how clean everything looked. Slipping her shoes off she went in the living room and found James sat with his dinner.

"Evening," he smiled, "Grace is in the kitchen." Clara nodded, a little speechless as she made her way through.

"Ah hey, your dinner is in the oven. I'll leave you be now," Grace smiled, finishing wiping down the surfaces.

"Hold on, have you cleaned my whole house or something?" she asked.

"Pretty much, with some help of course. You'd done most of the work anyway, just wanted to finish off so you had no excuse," Grace explained and opened the oven door to take the dish out.

"You should stay, there's plenty in there," Clara pointed out, "at least enjoy some of your own labour."

"You sure?"

"Don't be silly of course I am, unless you're actually trying to avoid me," she raised her eyebrows and Grace shook her head, "good, then serve yourself some and we'll go sit back with James."

Clara helped her sort it out and they walked through, sitting down on the sofa adjacent to the chair James was sat in. "So how the last 24 hours for you?" he asked Clara.

"Um… alright? To be honest I practically passed out last night, I must have slept for about 14 hours," she realised as she calculated it in her head. Grace and James looked at each other, nodding almost victoriously. "Yeah yeah you were both right I know, I'm grateful, you know me well. So did you guys enjoy yourselves?"

"Eh, I put up with her," James shrugged. "I'm just glad you got a break."

"Yeah, me too to be honest," she told him. "Back to it now though, but I promise I'll take it easier now."

"You better had, there's only so much I can take," Grace grinned and Clara nodded. "However if you need a few hours, you know where I am."

"Deal, thanks love," Clara smiled and they finished up eating together.


	9. Chapter 9

**Dear Guest: Thank you for your lovely review! In answer to your question, I don't really think many people read it! My friend does and normally messages me about it after hence she doesn't review. Glad to know you've enjoyed it!**

Another week went by and things were better. Grace had taken the reins on Wednesday night to give Clara a couple of hours with Danny and a rest from running about at home. When the weekend arrived she felt much better than 7 days previous and much happier about the progress James was making. He was mostly independent now, the physiotherapist was impressed and things were looking promising. Clara had left work early on Friday to take James to his physio where he was officially signed off to walk up and downstairs unaided. They got home and indoors and almost immediately he made his way upstairs, just to make a point.

"Alright alright get yourself back down here," Clara rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen to start dinner. "I'll get this sorted for you. Are you still alright if I pop out? You don't need constant supervision now after all."

"The independence will be eye opening," he grinned. "Danny?"

"Dad," she replied. "I figured I should tell him… you know, what's going on. He's driving through on a work thing so asked to meet for coffee."

"Ah right, fair enough. Send him my regards," James told her.

"Of course," she smiled and turned around. "That'll be done in 15 minutes, are you okay to just get it out?"

"I'm mobile again remember, and I can do cooking. Go see your Dad, have a good night and if he complains then tell him to call me and I'll explain that it's fine," James smiled. Clara kissed him on the cheek to say thank you before grabbing her bag and disappearing out the door.

James watched her go, smiling at her bounciness this afternoon. He pulled out his phone now as he leant against the side.

 _Is the coast clear tonight? Xx_

He smiled and typed his reply.

 _We've got a few hours. See you in 20? Xx_

The confirmation came and he slipped his phone back in his pocket again, turning his attention back to dinner.

#-#-#-#

Clara walked into the cafe and spotted her Dad in the corner, walking over and kissing him on the cheek. "Hey Dad," she smiled and sat down.

"Got your tea in already, should be nicely brewed. How was your day?" he asked.

"Good, really good. James is close to being signed off from intensive physio and can move about a lot better now. What about you?"

"Oh you know, boring meeting after boring meeting…" he chuckled and Clara nodded. "Anyway, you said you had something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Her smile faded slightly and she looked down at the cup of tea she had just poured out. "Yeah. Um… James and I, we're splitting up."

Dave nearly choked on his coffee and put the mug down, "what? Why? After everything you've just been through."

"It was coming before that, way before. We've not been right for a while, even before he proposed but neither of us wanted to accept that so we didn't. We do love each other, but we are too different." Clara knew her Dad was fond of James which made this all the more difficult. "He was working so much I was barely getting a look in anymore. I didn't feel… wanted. It's not his fault really. We've spoken a lot about it through his recovery and it is the right thing for us both. I'm sorry Dad."

"Hey it's your life not mine love, it's just a suprise. So what made you realise it then? Was it the illness?" he asked, picking his mug back up again but Clara took it off him, a little scared of his reaction to the next word.

"Danny," she said bluntly. As she'd expected his jaw dropped open as he processed this. "He's back. He's working as a maths teacher at Coal Hill. Neither of us knew and we never thought anything would happen at the start but it did. We didn't do anything… well, you know, but we started spending a lot of time together and that was enough."

"I'll be honest I was not expecting that," he said eventually and Clara nodded, pushing his coffee back over to him. "So you two are back on?"

"Sort of… I guess. We told James, he kind of gave us his blessing. We've spent a bit of time together but I've been at home mostly. I promised I'd help James through his recovery and that's what I've done. It's helped us both I think, we've spent the last 2 weeks living together almost as friends and it's been good." Clara admitted, it had made the idea of leaving that little bit more manageable.

"Well I'll be honest, I'm really happy for you. Danny was the best thing to happen to you as a teenager and seeing you when he left… I'm glad, I'm glad he's back." Clara could see it in his eyes, he really meant what he was saying. "You're happy aren't you?"

"Yeah, I really am. For the first time in ages I feel genuinely happy," she smiled. "I appreciate your support Dad, it means a lot."

"You're my little girl," he smiled and Clara nodded. "So James is okay with it all?"

"Yep, he's happy for me. I think he knew things were ending too," she shrugged. "You can come round if you want?"

"If that's okay, I don't want to intrude," he said but Clara shook her head while finishing off her tea.

"Honestly it's fine. I'll sort you some dinner too," she smiled and stood up. They went off to their respective cars and drove back to hers.

When they'd both parked up Clara let them into the house. She looked around and realised that James wasn't in the living room. "He's probably revelling in the fact he can go upstairs. Hold on I'll go grab him, make yourself at home."

Dave walked in and sat down while Clara made her way upstairs. She dropped her bag in the spare room first and went off to the bedroom, opening the door slowly incase he was asleep. The sight that she found was far from what she expected.

"Clara-" he started but she shook her head. He wasn't alone in the bed and he definitely wasn't dressed. The woman with him had tried to hide under the duvet but something about her seemed familiar. "It's not… no. It is. Look, I'm sorry-" Suddenly it clicked who the woman was.

"Grace…" she managed to get out. Grace looked round and Clara could see the tears in her eyes. She couldn't feel any sympathy for the woman. "How… how long?"

"Clara can we at least-" Grace started but Clara put her hand up to stop her.

"How. Long?" she asked sternly. "Before or after?" They knew what she was asking, before or after the illness. Their silence was enough to answer the question. "And you had the right to lecture me about spending time with Danny?!" she shouted at Grace. "Well you clearly don't need me here anymore." Clara stormed downstairs and into the lounge. Her Dad was stood up, presumably having heard the shouting.

Clara composed herself. "Sorry, there's been a change of plan. I'm going to Danny's, got some stuff to sort out. You get on home, don't want to make you late. too late, sorry about dinner," she didn't know if she sounded sane or not but she needed to get out before James and Grace appeared and she could hear them moving about. Dave went to argue but she didn't allow him to talk to her and she rushed him out out of the door. Waving him off and putting a smile on she immediately jumped in her car, driving off to Danny's.

Somehow she held it together until he opened the door when she practically broke down on him. Danny didn't question her straight away and took her in, shutting his door and guiding her to the sofa. She cried for a good hour before finally calming down enough to speak. "I'm sorry," she managed to get out.

"What's happened sweetheart?" he asked, "you want tea?"

"I'm really cold…" she suddenly felt herself shiver.

"Clara what happened? It's like you're in shock…" he held her closer and kissed her head.

"James, he was in bed with… with Grace…" she didn't know how she got it out, but she did. "It started before…"

"Before he got ill?" Danny asked and Clara nodded. "Grace is your best friend!"

"Was," she mumbled. "I don't know what to do. I'm angry but, didn't I do the same thing to him?"

Danny sighed, she had a point but this was still worse. "He didn't tell you, neither of them did. They knew about us and they still said nothing. Grace, she's your best friend! This is so much worse than what we did."

"I don't know what I'm meant to do now," she pulled out her phone to show him the constant stream of missed calls and texts. She opened them, "they're not even angry at me."

"Of course they're not Clara, we've been through all that," he sighed and kissed her head again, "you should be angry at them."

"I am, I just- how do I take it in? What am I even meant to think?!" she sighed as he phone rang again. Just as she went to hang up, Danny plucked it from her hands. "Danny!"

"Go put the kettle on love," he told her, standing up and walking upstairs, answering the phone as he did.

"Clara?!" James' voice came from the other end.

"No such luck," Danny replied, "what the hell have you done? How long has this been going on for?!"

"It's none of your business!" James shouted back.

"HOW LONG?!" Danny wasn't taking no for an answer.

"A year," James almost mumbled. Danny couldn't quite believe what he'd just heard.

"You proposed to her, why would you do that if you're sleeping with her best friend?" he had so many questions.

James' pause told Danny enough, but he still waited. "I love Clara, I do. We just…"

He heard who enough. "No, don't give me that rubbish. So all those times she thought you were staying late at work?"

"Sometimes I was," he tried to argue.

Danny was losing his mind, "sometimes isn't good enough. I really hope you're both happy enough that the guilt doesn't hurt you too much," he lied. "Don't call her again." He hung up.

Clara had made tea and was staring out of the kitchen window. She had heard Danny shouting upstairs but couldn't really make out what he was saying. The first she knew of his presence in the room however was when she felt his arms wrap around her from behind. He found her hands and lifted up her right hand, slipping the promise ring off her finger. Now he picked up her left and placed the ring gently on her ring finger. "This is more than a promise now. I will never, ever let you down. If you'll have me that is?" he told her. Clara turned around in his arms.

"I was foolish to think I could have anyone else," she kissed him softly. "Don't tell me what he said. Not now. I don't want to think about it."

"Then we won't. Oh, and I will do this properly sometime," he told her, spinning the ring carefully round on her finger.

"I don't need properly," she told him

"No, but you deserve it when you least expect it. Now what do you want to do?" he asked.

"Eat? I'm starving," she tried to chuckle but it was half hearted.

Danny opened the takeaway app on his phone and handed it over. "Order what you like, we can shut ourselves away this weekend just you and me."

"Oh god what am I going to do on Monday?!" she suddenly panicked but Danny shook his head and rubbed her back.

"That's 3 days away. Give yourself a chance sweetheart. I'll be right there on Monday," he told her.

Clara nodded, becoming too tired to argue and picked up her tea taking it and the phone to sit down and order food.

#-#-#-#

They didn't move from bed the next morning. Clara had ended up falling asleep in her clothes from the night before and when she woke up all the could summon herself to do was slip her jeans off. Danny didn't question her, he just lay with her while she dozed in and out of sleep, only half watching what was on the TV at the end of the bed.

A knock on the door was what disturbed them in the end. "You stay there my love," he kissed her head and got out of bed, going downstairs and answering the door. He almost slammed it straight shut again but he was stopped. "Go Grace, she doesn't want to see you."

"I need to explain-" Grace started but Danny interrupted.

"Explain what? How you had an affair with your best friend's partner for A YEAR?! How you tried to stop her even spending time with me. I mean that doesn't even make sense?" he told her. "Go back to lover boy and leave Clara alone."

"I'm not going anywhere until I can speak to her," she tried to be stubborn but Danny wasn't having any of it.

"No. You're leaving, now, before I'll do something I might not even regret." He was angry and Grace could see that, a side of him she hadn't yet seen and he was serious. Grace finally took a step back from where she'd put her foot in the door and Danny was able to shut and lock it.

Clara appeared at the top of the stairs, "what's going on?"

Danny considered telling her, but she had said she didn't want to know this weekend. "Nothing, it's nothing. You look cute though," he smiled at her in her long t-shirt. Clara blushed a little. "What do you want to do then?"

"Honestly? Go back to bed," she shrugged. "But I do need to get up, I can't lie in bed all weekend."

"Then we'll get up. One step at a time okay?" Clara nodded and they got on with it.

#-#-#-#

The weekend was tough and actually felt long. Clara was grateful for Danny and he had made it all a lot easier, but Monday morning had arrived and quite frankly she was terrified. "You know where I am, I'll be right with you."

"You can't be, nobody knows about us and now really isn't the time," she sighed and kissed her. Clara looked down at her hands and swapped the ring back to her right hand. "You can't be my boyfriend right now, not officially." Danny understood, it made sense really. "I just need to keep my head down and do my job today.

"Lunch?" Danny asked simply and Clara nodded. "Alright, deal. I'm gonna head in then and you follow in a few?" He chucked her a set of keys which she caught and Danny gave her a reassuring smile and left.

Clara arrived at work and went straight to her classroom, not even considering the staffroom. There was a mug of tea on her desk with a note.

 _Talk to me._

Clara pushed the mug to one side and screw the note up, throwing it in the bin. She looked back at the mug and picked it up, taking it to her cupboard putting it on a spare shelf before retrieving the books she needed for the beginning of her lesson. When she walked back out Grace was stood at the door.

"Go, this is not a conversation to be having at work," Clara spoke calmly, laying the books out.

"Well you're not gonna let it happen any other time are you?" Grace argued but Clara shook her head.

"What's the point? You've got what you wanted," Clara shrugged.

"So have you," she tried to point out but that was enough to make her lose her cool.

"Oh yeah, I _really_ wanted my best friend to sleep with my fiancé for a year but I only find out after I've already agreed to break up with him so they think that's a good enough excuse?! Yeah that's exactly what I wanted," Clara didn't raise her voice, but the tone was enough. Grace knew she had a point and a good one at that. "Get out Grace, you have a job to do."

"Yes boss," she replied. Clara watched until she'd left and then got back to what she was doing. Playing boss on the woman who was supposed to be her best friend was not something Clara had really imagined. This was going to be a tough day.

She made it to lesson 3 and without a hitch. Infact she was on a role giving the year 10s a speech on the excitement of Jane Austen when there was a knock and Hattie, one of the sixth formers walked in. "Sorry to interrupt, Mr Armitage wants to see you Miss," she told her.

There was a resounding 'ooooooooooooooooooooo' from the class and Clara rolled her eyes, "shut it you lot. You can start on the questions I gave you earlier. And behave! You know Mr Hall has the hearing of a bat," she smiled at them all, making them chuckle a little while she left, thanking Hattie who disappeared off.

Clara knocked on his door and was called in. Going to the headteachers office was still weirdly scary even as a teacher, still not a feeling she could quite put her finger on. "Ah Clara come on in," he smiled, "take a seat." She did so, waiting for him to address why she was here. "I'm sorry to pull you out of a lesson, you know I wouldn't normally but I wanted to have this conversation with you today and I've got a tight schedule."

"That's fine, they're a pretty good group I've got at the moment," she smiled.

"Fab. So you've been acting head of English for a little while now during Paul's illness. I spoke to him over the weekend and he is going to be returning next week, but he is stepping down as head of english. After a talk with him and some of your colleagues we'd like you to continue on as head of department permanently. How do you feel about that?"

"That would be lovely, I've actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would," Clara smiled.

"Wonderful, in that case we will go through the motions to make it official soon. The next option of course is to consider your deputy. That is ultimately your decision, but it will need to be an officially advertised internal post. The obvious candidate is of course Grace," he told her and Clara rolled her eyes, only realising she had when he commented on it. "Everything okay?"

"Oh, yes sorry. I'm happy to sort out an advert for the job and send it out to the department?" she suggested.

"That would be perfect, thank you. Just probably worth holding a departmental meeting this lunch to explain what's going on. I can drop in quickly if needed?" he asked.

"Oh gosh no don't worry I'll sort it, you've got enough on your plate!" she chuckled, "I should get back."

"Of course, congratulations Clara," he stood up as she did and they shook hands before she left the office to go back to her class.

"Hey you in trouble miss?!" one of the boys called from the back as she walked in.

"Nope, but it's none of your business. Now, how have you all got on?"

#-#-#-#

Clara had text Danny to say she would be late out to meet him and called all the department to her room at the end of 4th period, albeit a little reluctantly. They all turned up fairly promptly and thankfully Grace was the last to come in, standing behind a couple of the others which meant Clara didn't have to make eye contact with her.

"Just a quick one because I have places to be," she started and Henry, one of the more junior members of the team wolf whistled. Clara rolled her eyes, they'd got used to her disappearing at lunch to see to James so they were likely all assuming that was the case. "I'm sure you're all hungry too. So, Mr Armitage spoke to me earlier and informed me that Paul will be returning next week, but he has decided to give up his role as head of English. I've been asked to continue in the role permanently which I have accepted and-"

"That's great, you've been doing a wonderful job," Jane told her. Jane had been her mentor when Clara had first started and the compliment meant a lot, but she really wanted to get this done.

"Thanks," she smiled politely, "so I've now been charged with the mission to find a deputy. We have to do this semi-officially so I'll be emailing you all tomorrow with the information about it all. That's kind of it for now, we'll have a proper meeting on Friday as always."

Everyone nodded approvingly and began to file out, congratulating her as they went. Clara was grateful when the room was empty and she had barely had to look at Grace. Instead she grabbed her bag and made her way out and over to the park, taking her car the short distance simply to keep up the pretense that she had gone home.

Danny was sat in the usual spot when she arrived and Clara slumped down next to him, leaning against him gently. "Just had to hold the most awkward meeting," she sighed. "I don't know what to do, if I'm going to run this department I need to be able to work with all my staff. On top of that Arnold wants me to pick Grace as my deputy and I just-"

"Wait, 3 steps back, you're running the department? Like, permanently?" he asked.

Clara suddenly realised she hadn't actually explained that bit, "oh, yeah. Arnold spoke to me earlier, Paul's stepping down when he comes back so… job's mine."

"Well that's fantastic! I'm proud," he smiled and kissed her head, "as for the rest of it, you're going to have to find a way to work professionally with Grace. You don't have to choose her."

"But she is the best person for the job Danny, whatever I think of her she really is…" she sighed.

"There's time yet right?" he asked and Clara nodded. "Then don't worry about it for now." Danny reached down and picked up the bag with food in. "For now I have sandwiches and we have…" he looked at his watch, "35 minutes to do whatever we please."

Clara smiled and took the packet from him, "sounds great."

"Sounds more than great," he told her and kissed her softly, "I couldn't ask for anything better."


	10. Chapter 10

Clara had been avoiding looking at the applications but she had no choice now. She logged into the work server and looked at the list - exactly the 3 she had expected - Henry, Jane and Grace. She had hoped Grace might not apply, but sadly giving her ex-best friend the silent treatment had failed. She was reading through them when Danny got home, he'd been on a school trip with the year 7s.

"Remind me never to agree to help on that again," he groaned, flopping down on the sofa. Clara shut her laptop and looked over.

"Now you know why everyone avoids it if they're not a tutor," she grinned, "you look shattered."

"I haven't slept in 3 days, of course I'm shattered. How have you been?" he asked. Clara opened up her laptop and turned the screen to him, "ah…"

"I've been avoiding it for 2 days, but I have to give Arthur a name on Monday," she sighed.

"And?" he asked, playing with a strand of her hair.

"And Grace is the best application," she sighed. "I don't know how to do this, people are noticing too now. I want to be professional about this,she's the best person for the job so she should have the job."

"I think this is where you have to talk to her Clara, if you want her to have the job then you need to be able to work with her," he told her.

"Why are you so sensible?" she complained, "I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow then."

"I can come with you if you want," he told her, but Clara shook her head.

"No, got to do this myself. I'll text her tonight, meet in a public place so it can't get out of hand, but in the meantime I need to think about something else. Dinner?"

#-#-#-#

Clara sat in the café, she'd chosen a table in the corner with few people around to give them some kind of privacy, who knew what words were about to be spoken. She ordered the drinks so they were sat on the table when Grace came over and sat down. "Hi," Clara spoke out of politeness, suddenly regretting this idea.

"Hi, thanks for the coffee," Grace sat down and took a sip, "thank you for agreeing to talk too."

"I don't have much choice," Clara replied, not really looking at her. "We need to be able to work together and for that to happen we need to talk."

Grace nodded, "I agree, we've always worked well together even before we were good friends." Clara knew she was right, they'd clicked immediately as colleagues. "I miss you Clara."

Clara looked up now, raising her eyebrow, "I think you gave up the right to miss me when you screwed my husband," she said it calmly, not wanting to draw attention to them. "Nonetheless, you are a good teacher Grace, and you would make a good deputy head of department, but if we can't work together then we will both be rubbish."

"I'm surprised you're considering it to be honest," Grace replied, "I nearly didn't apply.

"Part of me wishes you hadn't," Clara was only going to be honest with her, "but here we are."

A silence fell over them both for a few moments before Grace spoke again. "I'm sorry, for all of this. I know nothing I say can put this right, what we did was awful, I betrayed you in the worst way possible," she spoke, playing with her fingers nervously, "it doesn't change me as a teacher."

"No, it doesn't," Clara replied. "Alright, we give this a go but on one condition."

"What's that?" Grace asked.

"I tell Arnold what happened, he needs to know about our situation and that if it doesn't work because of this then things have to change. Consider this… a trial," she told her, looking back down again.

"Alright, deal."

"Good, and that's about as much as I can take of this today, especially when James has done a crap job of hiding outside," she stood up. Grace looked panicked, "he's yours now, enjoy." Clara walked out, ignoring James as she walked by but then turning round. "You'd better look after her, treat her right because I swear if you don't then this will have all been for nothing."

"Did you say the same to Grace?" he asked.

"No, because I know she'll treat you right," Clara was blunt with how she spoke, not looking him directly in the eye. She was about to walk away again when she decided to ask, "why did you do it?" Grace walked out just as she asked the question and stopped in shock that Clara was still there. "You can both answer if you like."

"Clara not here," James replied.

"Where else then? Our home? Because it's hardly ours anymore. Infact I don't _really_ have a home at the moment. Just tell me, nobody else on the street cares, why? And I don't just mean the first time, why did it continue? I need to know."

Grace and James looked at each other and Clara could see them trying to work out how to tell her. Eventually James looked back at her, "we didn't mean for it to continue. The first time we were drunk, you were away. We met up to talk about it a few weeks later and… I don't know, we just didn't stop. There's no way for us to explain it, we can't make excuses," he said.

"We both love you, we were never proud of ourselves for it," Grace told her. Clara didn't respond straight away.

"13 months," she eventually spoke. "That's when it started. I was away on a school trip, you'd joked about meeting up to 'cope without me'. Well you sure managed that alright didn't you? Congratulations."

"Clara I don't know how to say how sorry I am, we both are," Grace tried. As much as Clara wanted to be completely angry she could actually see the pain in her old friend's eyes.

"Do you love each other?" Clara asked. "The truth, even if you haven't told yourselves yet."

They both took a moment, looking at each other, they clearly had this conversation. "Yes," James told her although still looking at Grace who also agreed.

"More than you loved me?" she asked James. "Honest remember."

"Yes," he replied again. "I loved you so much," he looked back to Clara again, "but we were just too different. Grace and I…"

"You don't have to explain, we both know I love Danny more than I loved you. I just needed to know how you both really felt."

"So you're… okay?" Grace asked hopefully.

Clara scoffed, "oh yeah now I know you're in love I'm fine with the whole going behind my back for a year thing!" she rolled her eyes. "No I'm not okay, but maybe… just maybe it will help me to understand." With that she turned around and left, leaving Grace and James to watch her.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Grace asked, taking James' hand though they were both still watching Clara in the distance.

James sighed, "she's strong and she's got support, but I really don't know how she's going to cope with this. She was under enough emotional stress with me before all this and now…"

"We've really screwed this up haven't we?" Grace told him, "what do we do?"

"I don't know. I really don't," he replied, "but we have no right to feel sorry for ourselves anymore."

#-#-#-#

Clara went shopping before she went back to Danny's. He had a shocking lack of decent food in and she needed some stuff for herself until she plucked up the courage to return back to get her stuff from James. When Danny got back from meeting his friends he found Clara cooking and wearing one of his jumpers.

"You cold?" he asked, chucking his keys on the table.

"Mhm, all my comfy clothes aren't here so I improvised. I hope you don't mind…" she looked up and Danny smiled.

"Of course I don't. Why you cooking all this anyway? I could've sorted dinner."

"Consider it a thank you for letting me stay. I'll sort something out soon I just-" she started but Danny stopped her.

"Clara why would I want you to go anywhere?" he asked.

"Well you didn't exactly ask me to move in I just turned up on the doorstep," she pointed out.

"I asked you to move in years ago, things just didn't work out then. Nothing has changed from then, of course I want you here you fool," he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "You're going nowhere," Danny grinned and kissed her neck. "Smells gorgeous. Food looks alright too," he chuckled.

Clara rolled her eyes and batted him away so she could check the food in the oven. "Go get some wine out, make yourself useful."

The rest of the day was nice. Clara served dinner and they sat together, relaxing. Danny held her and watched her more than the TV trying to work out what was going on in her minds.

"What happened today?" he asked.

"I told Grace we'd try it. We talked, I think we can do it. James was there too, lurking outside," she told him.

"Really?! What a cheek," Danny sounded genuinely annoyed but Clara just continued.

"I asked them why they did it. The answer was pretty pathetic to be honest, but I did establish one thing - they do love each other. This wasn't some stupid thing, I could see it in their eyes today. James admitted he loves Grace more than me, and I guess they'll work better than we ever did. That's the thing you see, it's not them being together that bothers me, it's the deceit that lies around it," she admitted to him.

Danny sat up a little so he could see her better and Clara moved with him, keeping close. "I wish I could do more," Danny kissed her head softly.

"You're doing plenty love," she told him. "Monday, I want to tell everyone. Maybe not literally stand up and announce it just… go in together. Be us, you know? I don't want to hide anymore. I have no need to hide anymore."

Danny looked at her to make sure she was sure before agreeing, he kissed her softly and ran a hand through her hair, "your pace, always."

"This isn't just my relationship you know, this is us. We need to work together now," she told him. "So, Monday."

#-#-#-#

True to her word, Clara waited for Danny on Monday morning. She was up early, nerves maybe? She wasn't sure, but she sat down in the living room, watching the world outside in the semi-darkness - there was something special about a winter's morning. Danny came down around 7 and found her sat in the window, staring out. She reached a hand out to take his, pulling him close but staying in her place on the window sill. Danny vaguely wrapped his arms around her and looked where she looking. "What are you thinking?"

Clara had to focus to work out what she was actually thinking before she could answer that question. She'd been thinking about a lot of things really, their past, her past, what could have been and what was now. "If you'd never gone to the army where do you think we'd be now? We had so many plans when we were younger - a house together, 2 kids, a dog. Were they just teenage dreams?"

It had been awhile since either of them had thought about those conversations, but now they were both considering it. "Honestly? I don't know where we'd be now, but I don't think those were teenage dreams, I mean I still want all of that with you if you want it."

Clara finally stood up, "it's what I've always wanted."

"Sounds like a deal then," Danny smiled and kissed her, "that was a very deep conversation for 7 in the morning."

"It was, breakfast?" Clara asked and they went into the kitchen.

Arriving at work together it suddenly became much more real. Clara didn't open the car door straight away and when Danny realised she hadn't move he shut his door again and looked around, "you okay?"

"Everyone is going to find out what he did, what Grace has done," she sighed. "The backlash is going to be huge."

"Everyone will be on your side you know?" he told her.

"I know, that's what I worry about, Grace is a good teacher I don't want that ruined," Clara replied. Danny smiled, reaching over and putting a hand on hers.

"Clara she made the decision, she's made her bed and she'll have to lie in it. It's not your job to fix her mistakes, especially not this one. Come on, let's do this shall we?" he asked and Clara nodded, letting go of his hand and getting out, grabbing her bags from the back before retaking his hand and walking in. Danny squeezed her hand gently as they went through the doors, reassuring her all would be okay.

Walking into the staffroom they could see people looking immediately, but they didn't respond. Grace was sat in the corner and looked almost panicked at her move, but Clara remembered what Danny said and ignored her for now, putting her bags down to go and make tea. She grabbed hers and Danny's mugs from the cupboard and flicked it on while Danny was catching up with a couple of his department colleagues. She spotted Grace coming over, obviously having had to pluck up the courage to do so.

"What are you doing?" Grace asked quietly, not drawing attention to the conversation.

"Allowing myself to be myself. I don't have any reason to do otherwise," Clara shrugged and poured the water out into the mugs.

"And what are you going to tell people when they ask?" she replied. Of course, she was only worried about herself.

"The truth. James cheated, Danny and I have resumed an old relationship. Don't worry, I have no plans to mention your name. You know it's only a matter of time until people find out though don't you? But I'm not going to be the one to do that. I can't make any promises about Danny though, he's still very angry," Clara told her, reaching over to the fridge for milk.

Grace opened the door for her, pulling out the milk and handing it over to a thank you. "Why is he the angry one? He's got what he wanted."

Clara rolled her eyes, "you don't get it do you? Yes, Danny wanted me, but he was willing to let me go for me to be happy with James. He didn't want me like this, I didn't want him like this. We're not unhappy, but he didn't sign up for having to deal with me trying to get my head around what's been happening for the last year. You know all weekend I've not been able to stop thinking about when it happened, how you got away with it and why I didn't notice. I couldn't physically focus on anything else and it's been driving me mad. You really think that's what Danny wants from this relationship?" she finished and looked up to see Grace looking slightly stunned like she hadn't even considered it. "No, exactly. So maybe consider what you've done before assuming the world is all sweetness and light for me now." Clara picked up the tea, leaving the milk on the side and walking over to join Danny on the other side of the room.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked, nodding over towards where Grace was still standing.

Clara handed him the tea, "yeah, yeah I'll be fine. Everything okay here?"

"So are you two a thing now then?" Clara had slightly forgotten Tina was stood with them until she spoke up. She was one of the other maths teachers, quite lovely really but they hadn't spoken too much.

Danny chuckled at the question and slipped an arm around Clara, "I suppose you could call it that yes," he replied.

"But um… you're engaged?" Tina helpfully pointed out to Clara who immediately held up her empty left hand (she'd put Danny's ring on her right for now). "Ah, I see. Got a better offer?"

Clara felt Danny tense up beside her but she cut in before he could get angry, "no, he did. A year ago apparently."

"Oh, oh! Damn Clara I'm sorry, so how did this happen then?" she was pointing at them both, waving her finger a bit. Danny looked to Clara, unsure how much she wanted to say and so allowing her to continue.

Clara could tell everyone around them was now listening, they weren't the most subtle group, but quite frankly it was easier this way. "We were together a long time ago for 6 years, basically until Danny went off to the army. Neither of us knew the other was working here until he started and obviously I wasn't available so we were just friends. We spent a bit of time together, but that was it really, as I say - I wasn't available. Now though, things are different, and why should we wait when James couldn't?" she shrugged.

By the time she'd finished speaking most of the staff around them had given up pretending and had turned to look at them, "good for you," Jane popped in to the conversation, "you know we're all here for you."

"Wow it sounds like someone just died, honestly I don't need loads of fuss. My fiancé cheated on me for a year and I didn't notice, but I've moved on and I'm still the same person so horray you've all got more gossip, enjoy," she grinned and moved from Danny's grasp. "I should get to it anyway, see you later," she directed the last part of her sentence to Danny who nodded and she left with her tea and her bags.

Word gets around fast in a school, even where the staff are concerned and by the time lunch arrived it seemed everyone knew. When she walked into the staffroom She was immediately bombarded with questions from Henry and Jasmine, 2 of her juniors. "Who do we need to punch?"

Clara chuckled and shook her head, "nobody, honestly, not worth it."

"Okay but seriously, why would James give up _you_ for someone else? Who on earth could be worth it?" Jasmine asked. As if on cue Grace walked in behind and Clara couldn't help but look at her for a few seconds too long and immediately looked down when she realised.

Jasmine and Henry both noticed as much as she had tried to hide it and looked round, seeing Grace - who hadn't noticed any of them looking yet - walking over to the kitchen area. "You two are usually inseparable? What's happened there?" Henry asked.

It was Jasmine that clocked on. "Wait, wait… is it her? Is that who?" Clara couldn't deny it, she couldn't lie, but she couldn't say it either. "It is isn't it? What a b-"

Clara grabbed Jasmine's arm and pulled her to one side, putting a finger to her own lips before speaking quietly. "Shush! This is not something I want to be made public alright? If I hear this has got out because of you there will be big trouble. Got that?"

Both Henry and Jasmine looked quite shocked at her sudden serious nature and nodded, "but Clara she's your best friend," Jasmine argued, "this isn't right."

"It's happened, but it's personal, this isn't something to bring into the workplace. Everyone had to know about Danny and I, they don't need to know about Grace. It's up to her what happens next if I can help it. You aren't to treat her any differently, we are all professionals here," Clara told them. She wanted to believe it would stay quiet, but if Jasmine and Henry had put 2 and 2 together there was nothing to stop someone else doing the same. Clara left them at that point once she knew she had the message.

Clara rubbed her head and did a quick check round the staffroom before leaving and heading for Danny's room. He looked up when she walked in and spotted her face, standing up and going over. "What's wrong? Has something happened?" She wrapped her arms around his waist, resting against him.

"Jasmine and Henry worked out about Grace. I've sworn them to secrecy but… people are going to work it out aren't they? We always were so close, Grace and I, and suddenly we're just not talking. Then with what they know about James, it's only a matter of time. I don't want to be responsible for that Dad, I just can't," she sighed and looked up, "why is this so damn hard?"

"You are not responsible for this Clara! You are not! James and Grace did this and they have to take the wrap. You're being the best person you can be in this situation, nobody can ask anymore of you. I love you, you've always been so beautiful and strong-" Clara scoffed at that comment.

"Yeah right, that's rubbish and you know it. I don't know what to do here Danny, I've lost track of all this, it's spiralling beyond my control. Maybe we should never have done this today," she was stressing, Danny had seen it before.

He crouched down slightly and made eye contact with her, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "We've done the right thing, like you said - you have every right to be yourself now. I love you, we will get through this. Please don't let them make you feel like this, you deserve so much more," he told her. Clara nodded and kissed him softly before hugging into him again when he stood up. "I have food if you want to stay in here? Avoid all the questioning."

Taking a step back she smiled gratefully, "thanks, but I have to go and see Arnold now about the deputy."

"Still sticking with Grace?" he asked.

"Yes. She's still the best. Thank you, I'll see you later," she smiled and kissed him quickly once more before leaving.

Predictably Arnold was sat at his desk waiting for her, she was a whole 2 minutes late which meant there was also a bit of pencil tapping going on. Clara knocked and went in, apologising for the delay and sitting down. "So you've made your decision then?"

"Indeed, Grace was by far the best candidate," she smiled politely, still wondering how this was going to work but she wanted to keep hopeful.

"I'm surprised actually, I heard on the grapevine that you two aren't talking right now," he replied. Clara resisted the urge to groan, even the head got involved in the gossip here what hope did she have.

"Whatever's going on personally, she's still the best person for the job," Clara was beginning to get fed up of saying that.

"Alright, I always said it would be your decision and I trust you. I trust you'll speak to your team?" Arnold asked.

"Absolutely, thank you Arnold," Clara stood up and shook his hand before leaving his office, contemplating the slightly odd nature of that had to be the next step and she walked round to the English department, knocking on her door.

Grace looked up and spotted Clara at the door, she looked down but gestured for her to come in. The door opened and shut and she heard Clara walk over to the desk. "I'm sorry, I know today must be really hard for you," Grace spoke honestly, "it's really all my fault and-"

"Grace I'm not here to talk about that. I've just met with Arnold and the job's official now, it's yours," she told her.

Now Grace looked up, "I thought after Saturday…"

"How many times do I have to say it to people?" Clara was beginning to sound exasperated. "You're a good teacher, what you've been doing with my… well, it's got nothing to do with it."

"Right, sure, um… thank you," Grace smiled politely.

"No problem. We'll need to meet weekly, maybe Monday evenings? We can have a quick talk after work if you like?" Clara asked.

"Sure, okay, thanks," it was already getting awkward.

Clara nodded and walked back out again, taking a deep breath. This was going to be a challenge.


	11. Chapter 11

**This one does get a little dark...**

Monday evening wasn't far away. Danny came into Clara's room at the end of the day to find her typing away, she was trying to get as much done before her meeting with Grace. He walked up to her and started to massage her shoulders gently. Clara gave in, sitting back and letting him continue, "you're distracting meee," she complained.

"The school day ended 20 minutes ago," he pointed out, stopping what he was doing to sit down against her desk, between her and the computer.

"And I have a meeting in 10 minutes," she counter argued, " marking to do, lesson plans to sign off and a classroom to tidy."

"Well, one of those I can help with," he smiled, "try and relax. This meeting will be absolutely fine," he kissed her head gently before standing up. "I'll tidy, you finish whatever you were doing."

As he said he would, Danny tidied up the classroom while Clara finished typing up the work she was sorting. The 10 minutes soon passed and there was a knock at her door as Grace arrived. Clara didn't look up from her laptop but gestured at the door for her to come in and so she did.

Danny looked round, acknowledging her but really not saying much. He was still angry, Clara could see it in how his posture tightened whenever Grace was within sight. He was angrier than her, at least outwardly, and maybe he was right to be, but he didn't have to work with her - not really anyway. "Hi, sorry am I interrupting?"

"No it's fine, Mr Pink was just helping tidy up," Clara still didn't look up. "He'll be going now," she added. She pulled up the messaging app on her computer and quickly found his contact.

 _Thank you. You'd better make something special for dinner. See you later x_

Danny felt his phone go and pulled it out, reading the message. He made his way back out, replying as he went.

 _I can stay close if you want x_

Clara smiled a little, barely noticeable, at his concern.

 _She might be a liar, but she's no murderer. Go home!_ _I'm gonna be starving by the time I'm done here x_

At that, she shut the laptop screen and looked up to see Grace awkwardly standing near the door. "I didn't put a chair there for fun you know?" she gestured at the chair near her. "Can we just get the awkwardness over and done, if this is going to work we need to be professional."

"Right, got it," Grace walked over and sat down. "I'm sorry, I just don't want to upset you and-"

"Bit late for that so let's move on eh?" Clara shrugged the comment off. "We have a department to run."

Clara went off explaining her plans and everything they needed to do to get it back in shape. The reality was that when she had taken over it seemed there was more work to do than expected. The whole department needed bringing back into line, but thankfully she had a plan even if it was going to mean a lot of work for her.

"Wow, talk about shaking it up," Grace commented at the end of their discussion. "Exactly what it needs, sounds excellent."

"Thanks, I was sort of thinking about it the whole time I've been acting but couldn't do much about it then. So… any questions?" she asked.

"No you pretty much covered it. I'll look into those bits I noted down, can I do anything else?" Grace asked.

There were many answers to that question that ran through Clara's mind at that point, but she resisted them all. "No, we're good for now. I'd better get going anyway, plenty to do," she sighed and patted the pile of workbooks on her desk. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem," Grace stood up, putting the chair away. "I'll um, see you tomorrow I guess?"

Clara nodded and watched as she went. She hadn't realised just how tense she was until the door shut and she sat back, but that could have gone much worse.

#-#-#-#

Arriving back at Danny's, Clara could honestly have gone to bed there and then, but the smell coming from the kitchen was rather enticing and she knew there was still more work to be done before she could relax.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Danny came out into the hall and took her bags. "Clara?" he asked again. Clara jumped a little out of her daydream. "You look shattered, did you really sleep okay last night?"

"It was alright I guess, I think it'll work. What you cooking?" she avoided the second question and made her way into the lounge, taking her laptop bag back from Danny. "I might have to work and eat, I really need to get these lesson plans signed off for Henry," she told him.

"Really made you a busy bee this job hasn't it?" he followed her, "can I do anything?"

"Retrain?" she replied and Danny rolled his eyes. "It'll be alright once I get into the swing of it and catch up on what's slipped back. To be fair Grace is going to be a big help too, she's taken some stuff off my hands already," Clara explained.

"As long as you look after yourself," he quickly caught her with his arm around her waist and kissed her head gently.

"I think you got that bit covered," she smiled. "Speaking of which, how long before we eat?"

"10 minutes, but I can hold it if needed," Danny replied.

Clara nodded, "okay, I'm going to jump in the shower but I won't be long," she smiled and put the bag down, jogging off upstairs. Danny nodded, leaving her be and going back to the kitchen.

#-#-#-#

It had been 25 minutes now, and that was a long time for Clara to shower. Danny had put the dinner in the oven to keep warm and decided to go and investigate. When he got upstairs the bedroom was empty so he went further in and checked out the bathroom. The door was open and the shower was running and Clara… "I knew it, I knew something wasn't right," he sighed. She was asleep, resting against the wall on the floor. It didn't look like she'd fallen, maybe fainted, but not injured so he wasn't too concerned. Danny picked her up and took her to the bed, lying her down. Just as he did her eyes flickered open.

"What… huh?" she looked around, "what happened?"

"Good question," Danny sat on the edge of the bed beside her. "Found you on the bathroom floor."

"Oh… yeah. No I just sat down because I felt a bit off, must've fallen asleep, been a long day. I'll get to bed early," she went to sit up but Danny stopped her.

"No, you're going nowhere. I'll go and get dinner and bring it up," he told her.

"And my laptop," she added, Danny gave her a look, "just the lesson plans, then I promise I'll stop."

"Just the lesson plans," he repeated to make a point and disappeared.

Clara lay back, trying to work out exactly what had happened when she started to feel the same feeling she had before. Suddenly the memory came flooding back as the intense pain in her stomach returned. She instinctively curled herself up, wincing with the pain and trying to work out what was going on.

Danny walked in and saw what was happening, immediately putting the tray down on the side and rushing over, "what is it? What's happening?" he asked. Clara couldn't get the words out to explain, pointing to her stomach quickly before another wave of pain took over. "Is this what happened before?" she nodded.

"Worse," she managed to get out quickly. Danny rubbed her hair back, trying to get a good view of her face to establish how bad this was.

"I'm not happy, this isn't good," he looked her over. "It's not going away is it?" Clara shook her head, tears forming in her eyes uncontrollably.

Danny took a moment to consider his options before pulling out his phone and calling for an ambulance. Clara couldn't even argue, she needed help now. Danny had considered taking her in but the idea of moving her without any pain relief was unbearable. The controller asked a lot of questions and he went through them as best he could, but it made him realise just how much he'd missed out on over the last few years.

The paramedics arrived about 10 minutes later and came into the room. Clara was still curled up in pain, beginning to tire with it. Danny explained everything that had happened as they started to take a look at her. "Has anything like this happened before today?" one of the paramedics who had introduced herself as Natalie asked.

"No," Clara replied quietly and a little strained.

"Alright, and have you ever suffered from bad period pains?" she asked. Clara shook her head. "When was your last one?" Clara thought back. She kept thinking. Natalie obviously noticed this and went for a different question. "Clara is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

Clara and Danny made eye contact for just a second as they both had a sudden realisation. "Yes," she almost whispered, brought back to reality by another wave of pain.

"Alright, we will get you straight in. We've got painkillers for you," she nodded to her colleague who dealt with that while Natalie disappeared to get the stretcher for her. It was only when they moved her that the blood was evident and it only increased the pace to get her down and into the ambulance.

When they arrived Clara was taken in for treatment and Danny had to wait outside for a moment. Clara had finally begun to relax a touch with the impact of the painkillers, especially once the hospital had got the morphine on. They managed to get her to lie flat for the ultrasound and Clara immediately felt scared of what was about to happen. The look on the face of the doctor looking at the screen confirmed her worst fear. He took the probe back and put it away, wiping the gel off her stomach and nodding at the rest of the team before approaching Clara. "I think you've grasped by now what we've been looking for. I'm really sorry but you have miscarried. I understand you weren't aware of the pregnancy?" he spoke to her. Clara shook her head, a little stunned.

"How far gone?" she asked, needing a pretty important question answering.

"13 weeks," the doctor told her. "Is the father with you?"

"No, no he's… I just split up with the father. I um... can Danny come in? I need him here," whatever pain was left seemed irrelevant right now. Clara didn't know how to feel, her whole body felt numb. The doctor turned to one of the nurses and instructed them to fetch Danny. "Obviously the blood you've lost is a little concerning so we are getting obstetrics down. We will have to discuss the next step at some point but we will take this one moment at a time and I know this is a lot for you to come to terms with. I'll give you a few minutes," he stood up and walked away when Danny came over with the nurse.

"Would you like me to explain Miss Oswald?" the nurse asked, but Clara shook her head. "Alright, we won't be far away."

Danny stood beside the bed and Clara reached for his hand, taking it and pulling him as close as he could be, "what's happened?" he asked, using his spare hand to wipe the escaping tears from her face. "What they said before, at the house, are you…"

"13 weeks, I had no idea," she spoke quietly, "summer holidays, it has to be James'," Clara added.

"And you've lost it?" Danny asked, realising she didn't want to say it. Clara nodded. "Oh sweetheart I'm so sorry," he sat down on the edge of the bed so he could hug her. Clara let him hold her, breathing in his scent and trying to help it calm her down. "We should call him," he finally admitted. Clara knew he was right, this was James' baby and he needed to know. "I'll do it," he told her.

"You should do it now, I don't know how quick things are going to happen and he might want to be here," she sighed. Danny nodded, kissing her head gently. "Please don't be long. I'm…" she didn't want to admit it, but it needed saying, "I'm terrified Danny."

"I'll be back before you know it," he told her and disappeared off to make the call. One of the nurses came back over as soon as he had gone. She started doing some obs and asked Clara a few questions about how she was feeling which were answered bluntly. It was highly likely James would soon be here and she couldn't stand the idea of seeing him right now, whatever the circumstances.

Danny returned, explaining what he'd told James. Clara just listened and nodded, allowing him to put an arm around her and she leant against him as he stood by the bed.

When the door opened and James walked in Clara had to look down, unable to look at him. It was Danny that caused her to look up again, "what on earth gives you the right to be here?" he spoke and she looked to see Grace following James behind.

"I had to drive James," Grace replied - of course he still wasn't allowed to drive. "I was worried too," she added.

"Tough, go and worry outside, you have no right," Clara could feel Danny holding her just slightly tighter, protectively, and for once she really didn't mind.

Grace didn't say anymore and left the room, leaving James standing at the end of the bed. "Clara I don't know what to say," he sounded nervous.

"You're not the only one," she replied. "I don't even know how I'm meant to feel. Should I be angry? I mean after all turns out I got pregnant while you were screwing my best friend. Should I be upset? I am losing a baby after all. Maybe I should be relieved that I don't have to raise a child whose father was sleeping with another woman at the time of conception. I don't know how I'm _meant_ to feel but there was a life inside me for 3 months and I had no idea, I didn't look after it and now here we are. Is this my fault? Is it yours? We will probably never know, but we both have to live with knowing what happened." Clara was speaking exactly what she was thinking, ignoring the tears pouring down her cheeks. James walked round to her but she was quick to react and try to push him away. Danny stepped in to avoid anything too bad happening and James took a couple of paces back again. "You don't have to be here for the rest of this."

"I want to, I'm part of this and I want to support you Clara," he told her.

"I don't want you supporting me! Everytime I look at you I just see the lies you've been feeding me for months! I'm just about holding it together with Grace but I can't handle dealing with you right now! I only agreed to let Danny call you because you have a right to know," she was angry and the painkillers were starting to wear off a bit, which wasn't helping anything. "Just go!" She shouted, clutching at her stomach. James instinctively moved forward but Danny stood up, getting out of the way and taking James with him as the doctor and nurse returned to her side to sort out the pain.

"If you want to stay, go and wait in the relatives room. She doesn't want you here, but you do have a right to know," Danny told him.

"Why are you being so nice about it?" James asked, he'd expected Danny to push him straight out.

"Because that was your baby too. Whatever has happened, I know how I'd feel. I know how I feel now and it's not even mine. So go, wait, I know Grace will still be out there. I'll let you know if anything changes," he told him. James nodded and left before he could change his mind and Danny sighed, returning back to the bed. Clara leant into him again, "how's the pain?"

"Settling again. Has he gone?" she asked.

"He's waiting, but he won't come in here," Danny told her, that was enough for now. "Don't blame yourself for this Clara, please don't."

The doctor looked up from where he was writing in the notes, "he is right. This is not your fault, it's easy to think it is but you should never blame yourself. There are people we will put you in touch with to talk about it and-" he was interrupted by the arrival of the obstetrics team.

Clara tensed up at their arrival, it made it all the more real. Danny rubbed her arm gently and kissed her head, "it's all going to be okay. I'm right here."

The doctor introduced herself as Paula and explained what the next steps were. She was sensitive about it, Clara had to admit that the woman did made her feel better about what she was about to go through, but it was still going to be awful. "Whatever happens, there's a whole team here for you," she told Clara. "One step at a time, your pace."

There was a long night ahead of her.

#-#-#-#

When Clara woke up the next morning she felt empty. It was gone. How could she be mourning something she didn't even know existed until 12 hours ago? It didn't make sense. Everything had been over so fast, they'd had to in the end because she was bleeding too much. Physically she was fine, but mentally her mood was questionable. Danny had to leave overnight so she was alone right now and for some reason she was terrified. The room was empty, just her, a silent TV and a window allowing the winter sunlight to begin to feed in as it rose. It was Tuesday, she should be at work today, she needed to be at work today. That was the only way forward, getting back to normal.

Clara sat up, going to swing her legs out but as she did one of the nurses walked in. "No you don't, come on back in bed you're not well enough to be getting up and about yet."

"I'm fine," she grumbled, but did as told.

"You lost a lot of blood yesterday. Your blood pressure is still lower than we'd like and you're looking pretty pale there," she checked over the fluids that Clara suddenly realised she was attached to. "My name is Nurse Butler, but you can call me Louisa because I really hate being called that."

"Then I guess you can call me Clara because Miss Oswald makes me feel like I'm at work, which apparently I'm not allowed to be," she sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"You're awake earlier than I expected," Louisa commented. "You had a late one I was told."

"Body clock, always wakes me up for work," she shrugged. "So what am I meant to do here then? Cry over what's happened?"

Louisa looked a bit stunned at the question but was saved by the door opening and one of the more senior nurses asking for a word. She disappeared for about a minute before going back in. "There's someone here to see you, your friend?" Grace. Why was she here? Clara sighed, she didn't want drama and she did need to talk to her about work. She shrugged and nodded. "Alright, I'll go get her."

Louisa disappeared and Clara tried to work out what she was going to say. When Grace walked in she still hadn't come to a conclusion so this was going to be totally unplanned, but to be honest she was too tired to care.

"Hey," Grace said, obviously a little nervous. "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have come but I couldn't sleep and I just needed to make sure you were okay, Danny wouldn't reply to my messages."

"Didn't James tell you everything?" Clara asked without looking up.

"No. I went home, he got a taxi back, haven't heard from him since," she explained.

"Wow, not joined at the hip then I'm impressed," she couldn't even be bothered to be nice right now. "Well I'm fine, as you can see. You'll have to cover everything at work I guess, I don't know how long they're gonna make me stay in here but I'll be back soon. There's a folder in my desk with the important information in and I'll have my phone if you need me."

"Clara you need time to relax, this isn't an easy thing to go through and-"

"How the hell would you know?!" she snapped, "you've got no idea. NO idea. Just go Grace, I can't cope with you being here!"

"Clara I just wanted to say sorry and-"

"Sorry?! For what? You know if it hadn't been for you then James and I might have gone through this together. Instead we are going through it apart and that doesn't make it any easier. Before you say it yes, I do love Danny more and James and I were never going to work anyway but that's not the damn point right now! That was our child! It had nothing to do with you or Danny, it was ours! It came from a time when we were both actually happy in each other's presence, maybe the last time that ever happened, but that memory is tainted now because I know that you and him were going at it the moment we got home! That's right too isn't it? Because when we got home I went shopping and when I came back you were there. I didn't think anything of it, but I'm right aren't I, you and him. We'd been back 2 hours!" Clara went to stand up again, getting her legs out over the side. She reached for the drip in her arm and was about to pull at it when Danny appears as if from nowhere and grabbed her.

"Clara no, no stop," he pulled her hand away from the line. He looked up at Grace, "I think you should go, don't you? Your boyfriend is outside. Take him with you." Danny turned his attention back to Clara who was now sobbing in front of him. He wrapped his arm tightly around her and held her, whispering reassurances that he would never leave and she was safe now. He would deal with Grace later.

It was a good hour before she settled. Louisa came in and out to check but Danny would just tell her they were fine. Clara finally sat up from where she'd been leaning against him and shook her head. "You should go."

"I'm not leaving you, you're not going through this alone," he told her.

"But who am I meant to go through this with? I can't see James or Grace, my Dad barely speaks to me anymore and you… this isn't your fight Danny," she told him, looking down at the floor.

Danny took her chin and lifted it up, "oh Clara have you really forgotten? Your fights are my fights too. I'm with you all the way on this, I'm going nowhere," he told her. Clara had no choice but to look at him and his eyes told her everything he said was true.

"How did I ever deserve you?" she asked.

"Oh you don't, but I'll put up with you anyway," he joked, smiling. He managed to coax a small smile out of her too, "that's better. Come on, lie back you're supposed to be resting and if I don't get you back down soon it'll be that nurse of yours throwing me out." Clara nodded and Danny moved so she could lie back down.

He pulled up a bag he'd bought with him containing clothes, books and various other things for Clara to 'keep occupied' with, but she wasn't really listening as he went through them. All she could think about was what had happened, it was taking over her head. She just prayed she would be out of the hospital soon because these thoughts were going to drive her crazy.


	12. Chapter 12

The moment she could get out of hospital she did, 36 hours in that place was more than enough. She left alone having self discharged early in the morning. Danny probably wasn't even awake yet. Clara found a taxi and got herself straight to the school, arriving early enough that it would be unlocked but nobody would really be around. She was thankful for the change of clothes she always kept in her cupboard for emergencies - this was definitely one of those times. She turned her desktop computer on, also rather thankful for file sharing sites so she could access everything she needed. Her desk needed reorganising, whoever had been pulled in to cover yesterday really hadn't even tried to tidy up.

It took a good hour but eventually everything was under control and ready for the day. She sat back down at the desk and opened some other work to keep occupied, not wanting to stop for a moment. If she focussed on work then she was thinking about nothing else and that made life just a little easier right now.

"I knew it, I knew you'd be here," Clara looked up to see Danny at the door. He'd been running. "What are you doing?! The hospital said you discharged yourself, but you're not ready, you were meant to see the psychologist today," he went over and took her hand.

"I don't need a psychologist Danny, I needed to get out of that hospital so I have. Please Danny, you promised me your support," she told him honestly. "It's happened now, neither of us can change it. Yes it hurts, but at least I don't have to face bringing up _his_ child. We move on, it's you and me now," she told him.

"Are you absolutely sure? Completely?" he asked, crouching down. "I love you, I just want the best for you and I want you to get through this intact. I've seen you at your worst and I don't want to see that again, not without a fight."

Clara nodded, "I just need to keep busy, work through it that way. Please, just let me do this, get back to my normal self."

"Alright, but if anything at all starts to get to you I want to know. Every little wobble, every angry thought or if you just want to cry. If you need to vent about something or just talk, you come to me. You shouldn't be here, but I understand why you want to be. Take it easy, please," he stroked her hair back. "Promise me."

She nodded again, standing up and bringing him with her so they stood hugging for a moment. "I promise, this is about both of us now," she told him and Danny agreed, holding her close.

"Clara?" they both heard Grace behind them and separated, although Danny stayed close, not totally sure how she was going to react. "I didn't expect you to be back, I was just coming to set up. Is this wise, you've been through-"

"Enough. I want no word of what I've been through. I was sick and now I'm better, that's the end of it. Back to normal, got that?" Clara told her, sounding as strong in her voice as she ever had. Grace nodded, "good. Departmental meeting at lunch as planned, see you there. Now I've got 24 hours to catch up on so if you can both give me some peace that would be grand," she told them both. Grace immediately left and Danny looked down, kissing her head.

"Come and get tea before the day starts?" he asked. Clara nodded, "good. See you in a bit." Danny left the room and ran after Grace, catching up with her and stopping her in the corridor. "I trust you about as far as I could throw you, but you're right next door to Clara all day. Any sign of trouble and you find me, got that?" he was serious, that much was obvious.

"Of course. I still know Clara very well, I'll know if something's going on," Grace replied. Danny nodded and walked away, leaving her in the corridor.

Despite all his concerns, the day seemed to go well. He popped in whenever he could, but Clara did seem to be getting on as normal. Maybe she was right and throwing herself into work was exactly what she needed. In fact it was Clara that came to him at the end of the day, ready to go with all her bags. "I expected you to be still working away that's why I didn't rush," he told her, shutting his laptop up. "How was your day?"

"Pretty standard, difficult children, plenty of books. Grace walked by my room a _lot_ that wouldn't have anything to do with you would it by any chance?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I… may have had a word. She's just close and she does know you so…" Danny looked so nervous Clara had to laugh. "What?"

"It's fine, the fact you would go to those lengths to keep an eye on me in this situation is kind of cute. Thank you," she smiled and kissed him gently. "Home? It's your job to distract me now."

Danny started putting his stuff away, "oh yeah? I'll have to think of something good then won't I?" he grinned at her and smiled, picking up his laptop bag. "Let's go." When they walked out of the main doors they spotted James and Grace stood talking by her car. "What on earth is he doing here? Won't people see?"

"No idea," she sighed, "not my place to care to be honest. Let's just go."

Unfortunately Grace was parked next to Danny so they did have to walk towards them. They had no intention of paying them any intention but they both ended up hearing something that made them stop.

"I can't tell her her now James, it couldn't be far from the worst time," Grace sounded angry. "You shouldn't even be here, get in the car," she sighed.

"Tell who what?" Clara made her presence known and both James and Grace turned in shock. "Grace is right, you should get in the car, I really don't want anyone finding out like this." James listened and opened the door, climbing in. "So, I'm pretty sure I'm the 'her', what am I missing?"

"Clara I really don't think now is the time to have this conversation," Grace replied, "and definitely not the place."

"Not sure there's a right place for any conversation with you two at the moment. What is it?" Clara asked.

"I…" she paused for far too long, "I'm moving in with James. I'm spending a lot of time going back and forth to help him out and it just makes sense so we figured-" Clara put her hand up.

"Trust me, of all the things you've done this is not the one that needs explaining to me," she told her. "Congratulations. I'll come round and clear my stuff out for you as soon as possible."

"Clara I'm sorry-"

"Oh my gosh stop, stop right there. If you apologise once more I swear I'm gonna lose it. Just go home, pack my stuff up if you like, I'll see you tomorrow." She walked away then and got straight into the car with Danny who followed quickly and drove off before they could respond. Clara turned and stared out of the window, trying to process what was happening.

"I shouldn't be angry, we are living together after all and-" she started, but Danny interrupted.

"We were pretty much forced into it Clara, they had a choice," he told her. "You're right, they've done much worse, but you are well within your rights to be upset, especially given the timing."

Clara sighed, "I'm fed up with all this, I really am."

"Hey, I promised I'd distract you this evening so that's exactly what we are going to do. First things first, I can't be bothered to cook so let's go somewhere nice for dinner yeah?" he smiled as he parked up. Clara sat up from where she'd ended up slouching and smiled a little, "better. Come on then, let's sort ourselves out and you can pick where we go."

#-#-#-#

Danny treated her everyday that week and Clara knew he was just trying to cheer her up, but it was working so she couldn't complain at the amount of time and money he was spending on her. When Friday night came round she was absolutely determined to do something for him. Danny had his department meeting after work so Clara went home swiftly, stopping off at the supermarket on the way.

She arrived home and got cooking, making his favourite meal that she had once cooked many a time when they were younger. It was her Mum's recipe for chicken pie and she hadn't made it in a long time, but hopefully it'd be like riding a bike. She managed to get the pie made before Danny got home allowing her to greet him at the door when he came back, throwing the apron on it's hook and running out. "Hey," she smiled and kissed him.

"Hello, you seem cheery tonight," he smiled and slipped his shoes and coat off. "Can I smell something?"

"Mmmm maybe you can," she smiled, "dinner's on me tonight. You've been amazing this week and you deserve it. How was the meeting?"

"Mmm same old, honestly Graham gets drearier by the week," he groaned. Clara chuckled, Danny wasn't a huge fan of his boss.

"I'm sure you'll survive. Remember Mr Ludlow?" she asked.

"Oh my gosh Mr Monotone! How did we ever stay awake in those lessons?" he made a similar noise to that he'd made after the previous sentence.

"I don't believe you did," she grinned and elbowed him. "Go on, go change into something more comfortable. 20 minutes till dinner," she smiled and let him go, disappearing back into the kitchen to get started on the rest of the meal.

20 minutes later, as promised, Clara served up the pie and took the plates out to Danny who was sat out at the table. "My goodness I'd almost forgotten about this pie, what a crime!" he grinned. "I can't believe you made it again thank you, this is wonderful," he told her. Clara sat down beside him and smiled as he began to tuck in. "Oh my gosh," Danny spoke without even finishing the mouthful.

"Manners," she hit him with her fork before starting on her own. To be fair to him, she'd forgotten just how good this recipe was. "Finally the weekend, thank goodness. It's been a pretty eventful week."

"No kidding, you're doing well though," Danny knew Clara well enough to see she wasn't just faking this, she really was doing a lot better.

Clara nodded, finishing what she was eating before replying, "it's not easy, I still feel… empty at times, but it's happened, there's nothing I can do, and at least I don't have anything tying me to James. That's what's getting me through." She was honest, he deserved that. "We'll have a family one day, you and me, just like we always dreamed."

"Turns out that dreams do come true," he pointed at the pie with his fork before taking another mouthful. Clara chuckled at him before resuming eating her own meal. "I remember the first time you cooked this after your Mum died. You cried all the way through making it, but when you finished-"

"-you told me how proud you were. So did Dad and Gran. We ate together and after that I told you just how freeing it felt to be able to do that, like I'd finally made an attempt to move on and make her proud." Clara finished off the story for him. "Yes, that is partly why I made it today."

"Well she would be. You Mum, she would be very proud," Danny stood up as they both finished eating and picked up the plates. "Still not sure how she'd feel about me though," he winked. Clara chuckled and stood up, following him through to the kitchen.

"Oh she'd have come round in time, you're just too charming," she smiled, wrapping her arms around him once he'd put the plates in the dishwasher. "Thank you for getting me through this. You know me so well, better than even I do sometimes."

"It's a team effort," he smiled and kissed her. "What now then?"

"The rest of our lives," she told him and kissed him back.

#-#-#-#

2 weeks passed and not much changed. Clara and Grace did work well together, but outside of that they didn't speak. She hadn't seen James at all since that afternoon and Clara really felt like she was moving on. There were the occasional bad moments where she just felt like she couldn't cope, but Danny was always there and they were getting less frequent as time went on.

It wasn't long till Christmas now, the last couple of weeks meant school was absolute chaos with excited children left right and centre. Clara had got into a good system of compromise with her classes to wind down towards Christmas but make sure they all still got their work done and it seemed to be working. When lunchtime arrived Danny arrived at her door while her year 7s filed out. "How on earth is your room so tidy?!" he commented as he walked in. "And why do you look so calm?"

"Oh it's so obvious this is your first Christmas," she chuckled, "you look worn out and it's only Monday lunchtime, what hope have we got?"

"Absolutely none. Unless you want to teach me your ways?" he asked and leant against the front table.

"Sorry, too busy," she shrugged, looking back to her laptop. Danny gasped jokingly and walked over, standing behind her and starting to gently massage her shoulders. "That is cheating, I'm not gonna break," she was determined. He didn't stop and he really was very good at massages.

"Oh we will see about that," he grinned. Clara resisted the urge to lean back into his grasp and instead shut the laptop lid, standing up and walking away. Danny leaped after her and before they knew it they were running around her classroom, Clara being chased by Danny between the desks. She squealed a little when he caught her from behind and spun her around, getting her lightly pinned against the wall. "Now tell me everything you know," he grinned.

Clara was about to open her mouth to speak when there was a knock at the door and then both jumped apart, straightening themselves out and thankful that they'd ended up at the back of the room out of sight. Clara went forward and gestured for the student to come in. "Hey Fiona, is everything alright?"

Fiona was one of her tutees, a very sensible student, but not usually one to come knocking at her door. "I'm worried about Miss Hawkins," she told her. Ah, Grace. Clara resisted the urge to sigh and nodded, waiting for more information. "She looked really pale this morning and she wasn't her usual self. I think she might be sick. I wouldn't normally say anything but she looks pretty bad."

Clara nodded again, "alright Fiona, thank you for letting me know. You go and enjoy your lunch break and leave this with me," she smiled. Fiona seemed happy with that and left the room. Clara leant against her desk and ran a hand through her hair. "Guess I'm going next door."

"You don't have to-" Danny started but she shook her head.

"I do, it's my job. She's still a member of my staff and I have a duty of care. Why don't you go and make me a mug of tea and I'll join you shortly?" she smiled, "and I promise I'll tell you my secrets."

"Sounds like a deal," he smiled and they kissed quickly before Danny left. Clara quickly followed through the door and made the short distance down the corridor to Grace's room. She looked in the window to see her resting forward on the desk. She definitely didn't look well.

Clara knocked on the door a little before going in, "you've got students worrying about you, what's up?" she asked.

Grace sat up, she really did look pale. "I'm fine, it'll pass," she sighed.

"You look like you're about to throw up all over me," Clara said bluntly.

"Charming," Grace responded.

Clara sighed and looked at the clock, "I'll drive you home. You're in no fit state to drive that's for sure. Grab your stuff together, I'll be back in 5." She left the room before Grace could argue and went off to find Danny who was sat with his lunch and 2 mugs of tea. Clara picked hers up and sipped at it. "I need your keys, I'm driving Grace home."

"What? Why?" he asked, a little shocked. "Like… to your…"

"Yes, exactly that. I need to get her home she looks awful. Please, just give me the keys," she asked, "it'll be fine. 5 minute drive, drop her home, drive back. I think I can cope."

Danny eventually gave in and pulled his keys out of his pocket, handing them over. "Any problems-"

"I'll be driving, that's illegal," she grinned, "see you soon."

Clara grabbed her own bag before going to meet Grace. "God you look terrible, come on let's get you home."

Grace stood up and followed her out. "Thank you," she murmured as they got in the car.

"It's my job," Clara told her, driving off.

"No it's not, why are you doing this?" Grace asked.

"Grace just… I'm doing it because for some damn reason I actually still care about you alright? You look really ill and you need looking after," she sighed.

Grace didn't reply, in fact she suddenly felt rather guilty again. Of course she still cared, that is who Clara was and who she always would be. That didn't make this situation anymore fair though.

"Here we are," Clara pulled up outside James' house. "Guess I might as well pick some bits up while I'm here," she shrugged and got out of the car, opening the door for Grace who at this point looked a little unsteady. "Come on use my arm," she helped her up and walked her to the door, using her key to open the door.

James came out of the living room on hearing the door and was surprised to find both Grace and Clara in the hall. "Hey," Grace smiled weakly.

"She's not been well all morning, needs water and sleep," Clara told him, barely looking at him. "I'll help her upstairs. I'll grab some stuff while I'm here but I can't be long." At that she turned and assisted Grace upstairs to what was once her bedroom. It felt weird, almost wrong.

"I'm good from here," Grace told her. "We… we put all your clothes in cases, I just thought it might be easier for you and-"

"You needed the space," Clara finished off. "It's fine. Thanks." She went over to the two cases and picked them up. "Let me know about tomorrow as soon as you can. If you do be sick you know the rules."

"Thank you. This is what makes you such a good head of department Clara, you go above and beyond." Grace told her honestly.

Clara nodded gratefully before leaving the room and going downstairs. Just as she was about to go out the front door she stopped and put the cases down, pulling out her keys and taking the key for this house off the keyring. James walked out into the hall with a bottle of water for Grace and immediately stopped when he saw Clara. "I thought you'd ready gone."

"Had to give you this," she held out the key for him. "Doesn't belong to me anymore. I've got my clothes here, I'll collect the rest of my stuff soon." James took the key although he seemed a little reluctant.

"I'm-" she raised an eyebrow. "Thank you," he went for in the end.

Clara picked up her cases and left, shutting the door for what she hoped would be the last time.

She returned to the school with 15 minutes left of lunch. Danny pushed her dinner across the table but Clara was staring into space and had done since she got back. "Hello? Miss Oswald?"

"Sorry," she replied and picked up the box. "I gave James my key. Picked up all my clothes too."

"That can't have been easy," he replied sympathetically.

"It's done now," she shrugged. "Now I need to work out how to run two classes simultaneously."

"Is there nobody free to cover?" he asked.

"Not English wise. I grabbed Faye on the way through she's going to sit with Grace's class. I'll have to go between the two, I've already got Hayley in mine but they're both TAs so I guess I'm doing the teaching."

"You're mad," he told her.

"I have no choice," she pointed out. "Anyway, good news is that I can stop stealing your jumpers now. Except the black one, I've stolen that."

"I noticed," he chuckled. "You'll be fine. Do you think she'll be back tomorrow?"

"No, I'm going to have one of the supply teachers on standby because honestly she looked terrible," Clara told him. "On the plus side, no meeting after work."

"Damn and I had plans to walk around the house naked for an hour before you came home," he sighed jokingly.

Clara shrugged, "I'm not stopping you," she winked at him. "I've gotta go. See you at the end of play?"

#-#-#-#

Grace didn't return for the rest of the week and in the end that meant Clara did have to return to the house to drop off her workbooks. She knocked on the door, ready to drop them off and run. "Hey, come in, Grace was hoping you could run her through the week…" James answered the door. Clara sighed, she had every right to ask especially as they hadn't met on Monday. She nodded, wanting to remain professional. "Can I get you tea?"

"I don't intend on staying long," she replied maybe a little too bluntly and walked in, going through to the lounge. Grace was sat on the sofa under a blanket, she still looked a little pale but much better than she was. "Everything is in there. I did mark your Year 7s work as I had a spare moment. There's not a lot to say really, I think we were able to cover your lesson plans as well as possible. I put some feedback sheets in to show what we did and didn't do."

"Thank you," she replied.

"How are you doing? Did you go to the doctors?" Clara asked.

"Yes, yeah. It's… nothing to worry about," she sounded a little uncertain about that.

"Just a virus?" Clara questioned.

"Yes, yeah just a virus. I should be okay by Monday," she replied.

Clara nodded, still not sure why she seemed so distant. "I'd better get home then. See you Monday." She turned away and left.

James sat down next to Grace after the door closed and Grace moved to lean against him. "I hate lying, but I can't tell her. She's just getting over everything that's happened and when she finds out about this…"

"You're going to be showing soon Grace, you can't hide it forever," he told her. Both of their hands moved to her stomach. "Clara has to know you're pregnant."


	13. Chapter 13

The last day at school was predictable chaos. Grace had known this was her last chance to tell Clara the truth but she had bottled out again. She watched Clara and Danny leave, they were going away for Christmas apparently to get away from everything. Grace was glad, it was exactly what Clara needed this holiday. They seemed so happy now, she was really moving on and Grace was simultaneously happy for her and heartbroken because she lost her best friend, but that wasn't Clara's fault. James and her were happy too, they really were, the prospect of the baby was something they were both so excited about and they'd planned everything down to the colour of the nursery, but Clara's reaction was still looming over them both.

When she arrived back James was just finishing off dinner, his cooking really was to die for and Grace smiled at the smell when she walked in. He walked out to meet her and smiled, kissing her softly and placing a hand on her stomach, "good day?"

"The usual end of term chaos, but I survived. Before you ask, I couldn't do it," she sighed, putting her bags down and walking passed him. James looked deflated, "she looked so happy James. They're going away over Christmas, cottage in the lake district. I can't ruin that for her, I just can't do it." Grace sat down on the sofa and put her hands on her now slightly showing bump.

"The loose fitting blouses aren't going to work forever," James told her, not sitting down as he needed to go to the kitchen again.

"I know James, I'm not stupid," she snapped a little before realising what she'd done, "sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know you didn't, it's alright. We've got 2 weeks to ourselves now," he told her and took her hand. "Come on, tell me about the horrific children you've dealt with today while I cook," he grinned and into the kitchen they went.

#-#-#-#

It was the day before they were returning home and Clara was sat on the sofa with Danny in the cottage in front of the fire. It was new year's day and having stayed up till way passed midnight they were fairly up for being lazy right now. "This has been the most wonderful Christmas," she sighed contently. "Exactly what I needed."

"Good, because it's exactly what you deserve," Danny smiled.

"Thank you. Not just this, everything you've done. Nobody's dream reunion is this drama we've been through. At least everything is settled now. Work is manageable, in fact we do actually make a pretty good team, and I'm happier at home than I have been in a long time," she smiled, playing with his hand. "I love you," she told him, "I always have."

Danny stroked her hair softly with his spare hand and kissed her head, "me too. I regret ever leaving you."

"You did what was right for you at the time Danny, I don't hold anything against you for going," she told him.

"I just didn't want you to have to worry about me, worry about if I would come back," he trailed off at the end.

Clara considered what to say next, pausing before she spoke. "I always did. We did that so we could have a clean break and I wouldn't have to worry, but I always did. How could I not worry? Eventually I managed to not let it affect me, resigned myself to the fact I might never know, but I drove by your parents house more than once, I never stopped but I wanted to," she told him. "Then they moved and I had no choice, I had to stop thinking about it. Not long after that I met James and… well, you know the rest."

Danny nodded, trying to process it all, "I'm sorry, I never stopped thinking about you. I wanted to write so many times. In fact I did, oh wow I kinda forgot… I still have those letters," he blushed a little. "I never sent them. I couldn't, I'd promised that was it."

"I guess we were both as bad as each other," she sighed. "But we are here now, the past is behind us and we've got all the time in the world. All those dreams might actually come true," she smiled.

"Which one do we start with first?" Danny asked, making Clara think. "I do have an idea…" he told her and grabbed his phone, pulling up a web page. "What do you think of this place?"

Clara looked at the screen and saw a beautiful cottage style house, "where on earth is that? There is no way that can be near work."

"Oh you clearly don't know the area well enough," he chuckled, "it's about a 20 minute drive actually."

"It's stunning," she looked through the pictures, "it's exactly what we always talked about."

"I know, that's why I went to visit and made an offer," he told her.

"You… what?" she sat up, looking round. Danny suddenly panicked, unable to decide whether her reaction was good or bad.

"And they accepted," he told her. "If you want it, the house is ours. I did explain the situation and they were lovely about it and said you can visit if you're not sure but-" Clara stopped him, kissing him deeply.

"Danny it's beautiful and you know I'll always trust your judgement but… how did you do all that without me knowing?" she asked.

"You have a meeting every Monday afternoon," he grinned. "You're really happy with this?"

"This is incredible Danny," she kissed him again. "I might finally feel like I belong somewhere," she smiled softly.

Danny nodded, "it'll be perfect, and the second and third bedrooms are just perfect to decorate ready for some little ones," he returned the smile.

"Everything we wanted," Clara couldn't quite believe it. "This year is going to be wonderful."

#-#-#-#

The first day back at school had come round fast. Grace had strategically chosen her outfit to try her best to cover the ever growing bump and could only hope for the best. She walked into the staffroom and saw Clara and Danny in the corner with a couple of other members of staff, chatting away about their Christmas holidays. She walked over to the kettle, greeting various people on the way. Flicking the kettle on she couldn't help but look over at them, they looked so happy. She couldn't bare the idea of wiping that smile off Clara's face, but it was only a matter of time… but not right now. "Argh!" Grace suddenly screamed and realised in her distraction she had missed the mug and poured the water directly on her hand.

Clara instinctively sprinted across the room, "how the hell did you manage that? Come on get your hand under the tap," she pulled Grace over to the sink and put the cold tap on. "That looks bad Grace you need it checking out."

"It'll be fine, I'll just run it under water," Grace replied. "You don't have to stay."

"Yes I do, you're an idiot when it comes to illness and won't look after yourself properly," Clara rolled her eyes. Grace smiled ever so slightly - this was how Clara used to talk to her. "20 minutes under that tap, don't budge. I'll be back." Clara disappeared off. Danny had made his way over now.

"Some things don't change," he commented.

Grace looked down at her hand, "no, I guess they don't. I've never seen Clara refuse to help anyone."

"She's always been the same. There was a boy in our class at school who didn't like Clara at all. We never did know why, but he didn't. One day he approached her at the gates and tried to start a fight, but he tripped and fell. I tried to get her to walk away and let his friends deal with him, but she refused point blank and informed me they wouldn't know what to do. She made me go and get the teachers while she made sure he was alright. He'd broken his wrist in two places and a few days later he came up to both of us and apologised. I don't know how she does it, I really don't, but it's always the same." Danny told her honestly. "She just has this power to forget any grudges when it means helping someone."

"Yeah, I kinda got that," Grace sighed, feeling all the more worse for what she was hiding. "You're good for her, I've seen a huge change recently - she seems more confident in herself."

"I hope you're not trying to make yourself feel better," Danny murmured. Grace knew he had a point, maybe she was, but it wasn't untrue either. Before either of them could comment further Clara returned with cling film. "Where on earth did you get that?" he asked.

"Kitchen," she shrugged, "how is that burn looking? It's not blistered?" she walked by Danny and looked at her hand under the tap.

"I can barely feel it right now it's so cold," Grace complained a little.

"Good, stop being a wimp and keep it under there. As long as it doesn't start looking any worse then we can just put the clingfilm on and it'll be fine," Clara told her. "10 more minutes. Guess we'd better make small talk."

Grace nodded and there was a short silence before she spoke again, "how was your Christmas?" she asked.

Clara smiled, "wonderful thank you. The cottage was perfect, it was so nice to just get away from everything, really refreshing. How about yours?" She didn't really want to know, but she wasn't going to be rude.

"Yeah it was good, quiet I guess, but nice," Grace kept it vague, knowing she was only being polite. "James has gone back to work," she added, not really sure why she said it.

Clara was a little shocked when she said it, but then she had a right to know. "Good. I'm glad. Make sure he doesn't work too hard, you know what he's like."

"Oh yes I'm on it," Grace smiled, "don't worry, it'll be fine."

Clara nodded. There was a little more silence as time passed but eventually time came, "that's it," she turned the tap off and carefully dried the hand before putting the clingfilm round. "I got painkillers too," she pulled the paracetamol out of her pocket. "Any problems let me know."

"Of course, thanks Clara," Grace smiled. Clara simply accepted it and left, Danny soon following. She walked quite fast back to her classroom and it took him a moment to catch up. It was only when he got to the door he realised she was crying. Danny rushed into the room and pulled her close.

"Hey what's this? What's wrong?" he asked. Clara clinged onto him for a moment before suddenly letting go and kicking at the shelf in anger. "Clara?!"

"She's pregnant Danny!" she shouted, unable to control it right now.

Danny looked shocked, "how did you…?"

"It's so obvious. The illness before and now there's a bump there, even if she's trying to hide it from me," Clara couldn't stop herself from crying. "I wouldn't be angry but… Danny she's showing, she must be at least 3 months and that means-" she had to pause before she could finish the sentence, but Danny was already there.

"That means she was pregnant when you were," he sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry Clara," he grabbed her hand and pulled her back close. "This isn't fair, none of this is fair. You don't deserve this."

"They don't deserve this," she almost spat the words out and pushed Danny away again. "Please, just go. I have to organise myself and I just can't do this right now." He didn't argue, now wasn't the time. Instead Danny walked away calmly, at least on the outside. Internally he was raging.

#-#-#-#

Clara kept it together through the day, she didn't want to let her students down on their first day back. She even checked on Grace's hand a couple of times, she was almost hoping she would tell her about the baby, but she didn't. At lunchtime she text Danny and said she was busy, but she wasn't. At the end of the day he came in, but she didn't really pay much attention to him, focussing on the lesson plans she was going over for some of the other members of staff. He left at the usual time and she vaguely waved, but she was dreading what was about to come.

Grace walked in for their meeting cheerily and sat down opposite her as usual, "another term eh? We survived day one at least."

"Well you tried not to," Clara pointed to her hand, "that's looking a little better already."

"Thanks to you," she smiled. "So the new term then, are those the lesson plans you're going over?"

"These are Jamie's. He's coming along well actually, much better than the last lot he sent me. He does have a strong passion for Shakespeare, I like that," she smiled. "Haven't had yours yet?"

"Oh gosh I forgot to send that, sorry I'll do it later," Grace told her. "Year 10 was hard work this year, the change in syllabus is really interesting but quite difficult to plan around I've found," she told her.

"Yeah a few people have said that, I'll feed it back. Anyway, what do we need to discuss today?" They got the serious stuff done quicker than usual, but then not a lot had happened yet. Clara shut up her laptop and Grace stood up to leave but she'd just got to the door when Clara made a decision. "When were you going to tell me?" she suddenly spoke a little louder than needed.

Grace spun round in shock and looked at her, "w… what do you mean?"

"Even now you can't do it?! What kind of coward are you?!" Suddenly she was angry, really very angry. "You're pregnant!"

Grace instinctively looked down at her stomach and then back to Clara, "I… I meant to tell you but…"

"When did you find out?" Clara asked.

"Just after you left James," she spoke honestly.

Clara shook her head, turning away for a moment before looking back. "How far gone are you?"

"16 weeks," she told her. It didn't take long for Clara to do the maths "Just after we got back off holiday. And you've known for 2 months..."

Grace was close to tears now, "I couldn't tell you, you were getting back to normal and I didn't want to ruin that for you."

"No! That's no good Grace, the longer you've left this the worse it has got! You're 4 months pregnant with my ex fiancé's child. That would be fine if we hadn't only split up 2 months ago, but we did!" she shouted. "I can't believe you, I can't believe either of you! You know everyone's going to find out now, what _you_ did? They're all going to know. And you know what?! I don't care. I'm happy, very happy, and I am not letting you ruin that. This is your mess, you're the one who will have to fix it!" Clara grabbed her bag, "Good luck." She left.

Clara drove half way home before stopping at the park. She got out and slipped her shoes off and grabbed her trainers from the back. Maybe her clothes weren't perfect for running, but she really needed to let off some steam. She locked her bags in the boot before sticking her headphones in and setting off. As she ran she felt the anger slipping away. What she had said was true, she wasn't going to let them ruin her life now. Danny made her happy, her life now was good. Sure it hadn't been the perfect transition but now they had plans, they were moving and they were going to have a family of their own. The more she thought about that the more she was able to smile, but she didn't quite realise how long she'd been thinking and running when her phone rang. She stopped and pulled it out, of course it was Danny - she was nearly an hour late home. "I'm so sorry, I lost track of time and-" she looked around to work out where she was, "I'm gonna be a few minutes, I need to get back to the car."

"Are you still at work?"

"Not exactly… I stopped for a run on the way home, needed to let off some steam," she steadied her breathing as she made her way back. "I told her I knew. Well, I kind of shouted… a lot," Clara sighed.

"Oh Clara, are you alright?" Danny asked, concerned. "Yeah, I think I actually am now. She's 16 weeks pregnant, she's known for 2 months. I was angry, of course I was, but now I realise I can't change that. What I can change is my future and I don't want to spend that angry about what could have been when what is to come is so much better," she told him. "I'll be home soon, I'm gonna run the rest of the way. See you soon yeah?"

Danny seemed happy with this, "dinner will be waiting," he told her and hung up.

#-#-#-#

Everyone did find out. The next day she gave up trying to hide it and everyone got talking. Clara on the other hand stayed out of the way, she didn't want any questions. Unfortunately, the questions came to her.

Jasmine and Henry predictably knocked at her door once they'd got wind and she sighed, gesturing for them to come in despite knowing what they were going to say. "People are going to start talking if you two spend anymore time sneaking around together," she said without looking up.

"I think they're busy talking about other things right now, like the fact that Grace is suddenly 4 months pregnant?!" he questioned. Clara still didn't look up. "Clara did you know?"

"I found out last night," she told them honestly.

"Aren't you angry? It must be James' surely?" Jasmine asked.

"Of course it is, but I can't exactly turn back time and change what happened. She's pregnant, she will have a baby, that's how the circle of life goes. I've moved on, I'm with Danny now and we are happy. As far as I'm concerned Grace and James can do whatever the hell they want with their lives - it's none of my business anymore." Clara had gone over that so many times in her head. Realistically this wasn't going to be easy but she was determined to move on for her own sake as much as anything else.

"It's not fair Clara-" Henry started.

Now she shut her laptop and looked up to them, "no, it's not, but I can't be angry forever. It's not the kid's fault. I don't want him or her to come in to a world where their parents are unable to be happy together because of me. They need the time to settle in, work this out, and so do I. This is how things are now. It's not perfect, things have happened that should never have happened and friendships have moved on, but professionally we all work together and we all will continue to work together so you need to get over this just like I am," she told them. "Now if you don't mind, I have work to do."

They nodded, both leaving without saying anything else. Clara sat back down and reopened her laptop, getting back to what she was doing.

A few days passed and Friday had arrived. Clara walked in to work with Danny, they were running a little later than normal for various reasons so most staff were already in when they arrived. "You go put the kettle on, I'm just gonna go drop my stuff in my room," Danny told her. Clara nodded, hers was on the way to the staffroom anyway so it made sense. They split off and Clara made her way to the room via her own. When she walked in she could feel people staring at her and what had been a noisy staffroom suddenly seemed to go very quiet. She shrugged it off, maybe the door had slammed louder than normal, and made her way over to the kitchen area. While she was making tea and facing away she didn't notice the subtle glances in her direction, but when Danny walked in he certainly did.

"What on earth is going on in here?" he put the question out open to the room. Clara looked around on hearing his voice and sighed, suddenly realising what must have happened.

"I think they know about James," she told him, and the reactions from everyone else said she was right. "And I thought the kids were bad," Clara tutted and walked out, leaving the mugs on the side.

Thankfully the students still appeared to be none the wiser so at least she was able to get on with class as normal. Unfortunately, things in the staffroom were no better when lunchtime arrived.

There was definitely some sort of comotion, there was a significant amount of noise coming from inside. She opened the door and her eyes were immediately drawn to the source of the noise which appeared to be Henry and Grace having an argument.

"She deserved better, she was your best friend!" Henry shouted.

"You don't think I know that?!" Grace argued back.

"Then you shouldn't have done it should you! Everyone in here agrees that what you did was awful and there's no getting away from that." This was getting out of control, the whole staffroom really did seem to be on his side.

"I can't change time Henry!"

"No, but you can leave!" he replied and there was a murmuring in the room that seemed to be of agreement. That was it. Clara had to step in.

"ENOUGH!" she shouted over the noise. "How pathetic do you think you all sound right now? How many of you have had to deal with teenagers falling out? How many stupid things have they said to each other out of anger? We are all adults here, supposedly well educated ones at that, but what would it look like to our students, or indeed their parents, if any of them were to walk in right now?! What happened has happened, like Grace said she can't change time! I've known about them for a while now as you've probably gathered, but Grace is still my deputy and we've still been able to work well together. So if I can do that, why the hell can't all of you?" she told them. "I'm pretty sure you're all meant to be happy for her - she's expecting a child after all. That kid has done bugger all wrong so I don't want to hear anything bad said against it. We're a team, we support each other. Thank you for caring, but this is nothing to do with any of you so _please_ just move on." She finished talking and looked around. Grace looked grateful but everyone else looked shocked. Clara just left at that, not wanting to get into any long conversations. Danny wasn't in there so she assumed he would be in his room and therefore made her way there.

When she arrived and shut the door behind her, shutting the blinds on the window into his room, he knew something had happened. "What's up?"

"Henry and Grace were arguing, it was a huge mess. I just want everything to go away," she sighed and hugged into him. "I want to get married, you and me, I want it."

Danny almost choked on his own breath, "um, is that a proposal?"

"I… yeah, I guess it is. Sorry, not the most romantic," she shrugged. "I mean I don't have a ring either so as proposals go it really is a bit rubbish."

"I'm up for it if you are," he replied, "it's been a long time coming."

"Certainly has," she smiled. "I guess that means it's happening then."

"I guess it does," Danny told her, kissing her softly.


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay so, there is** _ **suggestion**_ **of stuff in this chapter. It's not a trigger warning, it's not enough in my eyes to up the rating, but it's there…**

Danny had been out with a couple of mates on Friday night. He arrived home quite late and expected to find Clara in bed, but instead found her curled up on the sofa with the TV on. He walked up behind and leant over, kissing her head, "you alright? Why you still up?"

"Got distracted," she shrugged and pointed to the pile of work she'd been marking. "Then I just couldn't be bothered to move."

Danny slipped his shoes off and sat down beside her, "There's more, what's on your mind?" He pulled her over to rest against him.

"I…" she sighed, "I miss Grace. I shouldn't, but I do. I mean, we got officially engaged 2 weeks ago and I haven't even told anyone because I don't feel like there's any point? Grace was my best friend and I… I don't know. It's stupid. I've spent the last 2 hours debating if it would be stupid to try and make things up with her. I should be angry, I am angry, it makes no sense." She knew it barely made sense as she said it, but she also knew Danny had a good habit of understanding her gabbles.

"Okay I have a question and you might think it's stupid but I just want to know. Are you genuinely still angry at Grace because of what she did, or are you just angry because you think you should be angry and everyone is telling you that you should be?" Danny asked. Clara had to think about that, she hadn't even thought about it that way. "You know how I feel about it all, but the more time goes on the more I realise that maybe all this tension is just stopping you from moving on."

"What they did was wrong, but James and I were never going to last, I've got what I wanted and they've got what they wanted. What's the point in being constantly angry at each other? I can't deal with James, I really can't, but Grace… I don't know. Is it wrong?" she asked again, still torn.

"Clara, just call her tomorrow," he told her, "meet up, see how things go. I know you want to." He kissed her gently. "Now come on, I'm knackered."

#-#-#-#

The next morning Clara called exactly as they'd talked about. Grace sounded almost as surprised she felt that she was making the call. They agreed to meet at what had almost become their usual meeting point back in the day. When Clara arrived Grace was already there. "And I thought I was early," she smiled nervously as she sat down in the café.

"Guess we both had the same idea," Grace replied. Clara hadn't actually told her anything about why she wanted to meet. "Is this about those spreadsheets because I promise I'm nearly done-"

"Grace why would I call you here on a Saturday morning about spreadsheets? I know I'm sad but I'm not that sad. No this is… personal," she went for that in the end, but realised Grace suddenly looked rather more nervous. "Don't look so scared, I've left my shouty voice at home today. I've just been thinking, a lot actually."

"Did Danny kick you out for that? I've warned you in the past," Grace commented without really thinking and then looked rather apologetic. "Sorry, old habits."

Clara smiled, "no, that's what I wanted to talk about."

"What, did Danny actually kick you out?" Grace asked, confused.

"Oh my god we're getting nowhere," Clara chuckled. "Grace I miss you. Okay? There, I said it. I miss my best friend and this whole mess has just broken us up and for some damn reason I can't stay angry at you so I was kinda hoping we might be able to work through this."

"But why? Clara I slept with your fiancé, I'm pregnant with his kid, why on earth would you want to make up? I'm not saying I don't want to, you know full well how much I miss you but Clara this doesn't make sense. Why?" she asked for the second time.

Clara paused, considering this. "Okay this is going to be a long answer, I'm going to get the drinks in while I work it out." Grace nodded, letting her go up to the counter.

When she returned Clara sat down with the tray, "you got cake you have no idea how grateful I am."

"No problem. So I guess I need to answer your previous question then," Clara sipped her tea. "I know I should never want to see you again, but here's the thing Grace - you've not ruined my life. Yes I feel betrayed, but you're happy and I'm happy so what's the point in all this stupid arguing?" Clara told her, "so much has happened in my life recently and I've missed having my best friend to tell. I don't care what everyone else thinks of this, I need to tell you everything."

Grace was in disbelief at what she was hearing, "are you serious? Because I want that more than anything."

"Yes, I'm serious. I want to be there for you too, you shouldn't be going through this alone. I mean, I know you're not but," Clara told her.

"I know, and if it gets too much you can tell me because I know this is weird for you," Grace really didn't want to upset her.

"Actually the more I think about it the less weird it gets. I can't say I want to spend much if any time with James anytime soon but, well, do you have a scan picture?" she asked. Grace smiled and went into her bag, pulling it out and handing it over. "Oh Grace look at this little one… you're gonna be an amazing Mum."

Grace blushed a little, "thank you. I'm so nervous, but anyway I've got 5 months to prepare, what's your news?"

Clara smiled, "Danny and I, we're moving in together - properly I mean. Next week actually, the house is a mess with boxes. The house is a little way out, about 20 minutes from the school but it's beautiful," she found a picture on her phone and showed her.

"My gosh Clara that's beautiful," Grace took the phone to look closer, "oh you'll be so happy there."

"It's exactly what we always talked about when we were younger, it's literally our dream house. And um… we're moving in as fiancés," Clara blushed a little, but she was so glad to finally tell her. Grace stood up quickly and grabbed her up, hugging her tight.

"That is wonderful news, Clara I- I'm so happy for you. Can I see the ring?" Grace asked.

"We haven't actually got round to buying one yet. It was kinda spur of the moment, so it's all a little new but I just wanted it to be official. I really love him Grace, I'd forgotten quite how much," she sighed and stepped back from her embrace. "I'm so glad I could tell you."

"It's good to have you back," Grace told her, "and this is all on your terms."

"I know. It's not going to be easy I'll be honest, but I do want my best friend back. This might be a whole new level of forgiveness, but I'm getting kind of used to that." Clara told her. They both sat back down now, "I do want to be here for you, I meant that."

"Likewise," she told her, "always."

#-#-#-#

When Clara arrived home Danny was sat marking in the living room. "Having fun with numbers?" she asked.

"Well someone sounds cheery, did it go well then?" he stood up and went over to greet her.

"Very. It's so nice to have her back, screw the past," Clara smiled and kissed him. "Speaking of which, she showed me an adorable scan photo."

"Clara!" he hit her arm gently and she chuckled. "Honestly, we shouldn't be laughing. We have packing to do after all."

#-#-#-#

Things were starting to feel better now. Clara and Grace started to talk a little more outside of just work and their meetings were becoming much more enjoyable. They'd moved them to a Friday night now in preparation for Clara's move as that was when Danny needed to stay behind too. "So big day tomorrow then?" Grace asked as they packed up their work things.

"Oh gosh don't, I don't know what's bigger - today or tomorrow," she chuckled.

"Damn I forgot, you're staying at his parents tonight right?" Grace grinned, "when did you last see them?"

Clara had to think back to double check with herself before she answered, "8 years? Maybe more."

"Blimey, no pressure then," Grace grinned.

"Cheers for the support," Clara chuckled. "We got on before, like they accepted Danny and I well before my parents did. So hopefully it'll be good you know?"

"Well good luck, call me if you need a get out," she smiled and looked up when Danny appeared at the door. "That's my cue to leave - see you Monday." Grace grabbed her bag and left, politely saying hello to Danny on the way passed before he entered the room.

"Ready?" he asked, "Mum just text to say she's doing spag bol."

Clara grabbed her bags and pushed her chair under the desk, "wow, serious flashbacks. Do you remember the last time she made that for us? We were what, 17?"

"I don't think I could ever forget that traumatic night," he chuckled and they made their way out to the car.

" _Danny stop!" Clara ran round his bed after having been chased upstairs. Unfortunately she was cornered now and there was nothing she could do. He grabbed her from behind and pulled her round._

" _Ha, I win," he grinned. Clara admitted defeat and slipped her arms around him, "I hate you sometimes."_

" _Kinda hoping now isn't one of those times," he spoke, lowering his voice a little. Clara shrugged innocently just to annoy him but Danny responded by picking her up, making her squeal slightly. "Good job my parents aren't home isn't it?" he grinned and kissed her gently._

" _Mmmm all alone, what could we do?" Clara asked, although they both knew the answer…._

 _About half an hour later the door opened. Both Danny and Clara suddenly looked up. "MUM!" Danny shouted and she quickly pulled the door shut. "Oh my- what the hell?" He lay back into his pillow. Clara was giggling albeit a little nervously. They were both currently without clothing, granted with the duvet pretty much over them, but it was pretty obvious what had just happened._

" _Well that was… new," Clara eventually went for. "I guess we should get dressed?"_

 _They both got up and dressed, only going downstairs together when they were ready. Clara walked into the kitchen first, Danny following behind. "I'm so sorry Lacey," she addressed Danny's Mum, "we didn't realise you would be back."_

" _No no it's alright, we changed our plans and came home so I thought I'd make dinner. I normally knock I don't know why-"_

" _Can we just, you know, move on?" Danny asked. Both Clara and his Mum laughed at his reaction. "What?"_

" _Nothing," Clara grinned and slipped an arm around his waist, "you're just adorable," she told him before looking back to Lacey, "thank you. Dinner would be lovely, will it be long though? I have to get back home soon."_

" _Your Dad still being funny?" she asked._

" _Yeah, I wish he'd come round like Mum did," Clara sighed and leant a little more into Danny._

" _Well you two will have your own place soon, things will be better then," Lacey smiled "anyway, dinner will be 5 minutes - it's only spag bol."_

Clara followed behind Danny as they made it to their parents house. All the boxes had been packed and loaded out of their old place and were ready to move in tomorrow, but right now they were ready to bunk down in a very familiar room. Danny knocked on the door, "you're acting like this is the first time you've ever met them," he chuckled.

Clara stuck her head in his arm, "I know it's stupid, I'm just weirdly nervous," she sighed softly but stood up as the door opened and smiled politely.

"Clara!" His Mum immediately stepped out and pulled her into a hug, "you have no idea how happy we were when Danny told us," she smiled and stepped back. "You've been very missed in this house, come on in!"

Danny nudged her towards the door when she didn't move straight away and Clara reached back for his hand, still not sure why she was so nervous but feeling a little more reassured with him there. They followed Lacey through to the lounge where his father, Frederick, was sat. "Ah Clara Oswald it's good to have you back," he stood up and shook her hand. "Tea? Dash of milk and no sugar?"

"Good memory," Clara smiled, "it's good to see you both."

"Actually while you're both in one room, we have something to tell you," Danny interrupted the conversation before his Dad left to make the tea. Clara looked up to him and suddenly realised he hadn't told them about the engagement.

"There are two possible answers to that statement," Lacey replied. Danny smiled and sat down with Clara, both of his parents following on the adjacent sofa.

Danny looked at Clara who nodded and then looked back to his parents, "about 3 weeks ago Clara and I got engaged," he smiled, "there's no ring yet it was a little… sudden, but it's happening."

"Finally! We've waited 10 years for this news!" Frederick chuckled, "Congratulations both of you. It is definitely time for tea," he stood up and went off to the kitchen.

Lacey smiled, "you both deserve happiness, this is wonderful to hear. Any thoughts on the wedding?"

"Mum it's been 3 weeks!" Danny groaned.

Clara laughed at his reaction and replied for them, "we won't hurry. It'd look a bit weird if we did given the relationship I just came out of. Besides, I want a perfect wedding and perfection cannot be rushed."

"I completely agree," Lacey smiled, "well if you need to talk about anything you know where I am. How does your Dad feel about it all?"

"Oh yeah, Dad…" Clara suddenly realised she had barely talked to him since the night she found out about James and Grace. "Should probably call him at some point."

"Has he not called you?" Danny asked, not having realised they hadn't talked.

"Haven't spoken much since he got back from his trip that time. Well, I did text him after claiming everything was fine given I practically chucked him out of my home, but that was pretty much it," she shrugged. "We don't talk a lot these days."

"Linda?" he asked and Clara nodded.

"I don't like that woman," he groaned.

"You've not actually met her…" Clara pointed out.

"No, but I've seen what she does," Danny replied.

"Well, either way I'm going to have to visit soon and update them on everything…" she sighed. "Anyway, moving on from my ridiculous family mess, how are things with you?" she asked Lacey.

They got chatting and things felt almost like they had done back in the past. Time passed as they drank tea and they eventually decided to order chinese. Clara and Danny went up to his old room to settle in while they were waiting for it to arrive. When they got up Clara immediately flopped down on the bed, something she always used to do in the past at his house. Danny chuckled and put their case in the corner, going over to join her. "You okay love?"

Clara nodded, resting her head against his shoulder, "it's weird being back here. Old memories."

"Good ones though?" he asked and Clara nodded again. "Agreed. Although I really didn't need reminding about the spag bol night."

Clara laughed at him, "I mean that was a good night," she grinned and looked up at him and kissed him softly.

"Let's not have a repeat right now…" he chuckled and Clara stuck her bottom lip out. "Do not do that, that's mean, you know I can't resist that."

"I know," she winked and kissed him again.

"You are an awful woman," he told her between kisses.

"Mmm I know that too," she smirked, "but you love it," she kissed him again before there was a knock at the door. "See, she's learnt the lesson!" Clara rolled back off him and stood up as Danny went over to answer the door.

"All settled in?" Lacey asked.

"Like we never left," Danny replied, "dinner ready?" His Mum confirmed, "we'll be down in just a second." She left them to it and Clara slipped her arms around his waist. "You're very clingy tonight, sure everything's okay?"

"Absolutely fine, honestly. Just… can't quite believe this is all happening I guess," she shrugged. "It's like everything I dreamed of 10 years ago but it's actually real."

Danny turned around and kissed her head, "you deserve it all, but right now I deserve dinner because quite frankly I'm starving."

#-#-#-#

The next morning they woke up together, the sun shining in through a gap in the curtains. "Morning," Danny smiled when Clara's eyes flicked open. "Guess what?"

"Mmm what?" she asked a little sleepily.

"It's moving day," he smiled.

Clara moved so she was leaning on her arm, "so it is," she smiled. "I guess we should get moving then…" she kissed him, "I can't wait to wake up and not feel like I'm invading someone else's space. I don't just mean you either, it felt like that with James sometimes too. It feels like forever since I've had my own place."

Danny nodded, he understood how big this was for her. He sat up and then stood up, taking her hand and pulling her up. Clara ended up kneeling on the bed, looking up at him. "I can't wait to live with you," he smiled, "but in the meantime we have to get ready."

"Damn, technicalities," Clara groaned and chuckled, standing up off the bed. "Come on then, let's go."

They were both very keen and before they knew it they had keys and were stood at the front door of their new house. Danny took Clara's hand as they stood there, looking up at their future. "Go on then, unlock the door," Danny handed the keys over.

Clara took them, but looked up to him, "together," she told him and found the key. They unlocked the front door and walked into the currently empty house. "Wow… it's stunning Danny. Perfect."

"It's ours," he replied. "It will also be full of boxes in around an hour so why don't you go and familiarise yourself with the rooms while I make tea," he smiled.

"How…?" she asked, but Danny grabbed the bag he'd bought with him and opened it, showing her the contents - 2 mugs, a box of teabags and a small kettle. "Did I mention you are actually perfect?" she asked and kissed him. "I won't be long."

Clara disappeared to investigate the house. She walked around each room, memorising the layout and working out where things should go when they arrive. By the time she made it back downstairs Danny handed her a mug of tea. They stood together in the kitchen talking until there was finally a knock on the door. The removal men started to bring everything in, multiple boxes in each room piling up. The odd cabinet and table that they'd bought from the old place and the bed, but they were going to buy a lot of new stuff.

It took a good couple of hours to get all the boxes out, especially once they'd thrown in a tea break for the workers. Eventually everything was in and they left, leaving Clara and Danny standing in amongst a pile of unpacking. "I guess we've got work to do," she chuckled. "Where do we start?"

They spent the rest of the day unpacking boxes, starting in the kitchen and spreading out. By the time evening came round they'd actually done a good chunk of it despite seemingly spending half the time throwing bubble wrap and tissue paper at each other. Clara unpacked the last box for the bedroom and then collapsed on the not yet made bed. "I'm done, I can't open another box today," she groaned, stretching out over the bed in a starfish type shape. "I am also starving."

Danny turned around from where he was and saw her on the bed, grinning at her mock annoyance, "I guess we will have to fix that then won't we?" he replied. "Pizza and wine?"

"A perfect first night dinner," she smiled, "can you go order and stuff and I'll be down soon? I think I need to phone Dad."

"That could be a long conversation," Danny replied, "sure you're okay to do it now?"

"I'm not gonna tell him much now, just invite him round and take it from there," she told him. "I'll be 10 minutes, promise." Danny nodded, leaving the room. Clara sat up and grabbed her phone, dialling her Dad's number.

"Hello, I was beginning to wonder if you'd fallen off the planet," her Dad greeted her cheerily. Clara rolled her eyes, it wasn't like he'd tried too hard to contact her either.

"Likewise," she replied, "I was thinking we need to catch up. There's… a lot has happened since I last saw you, there's a lot you need to know. I've moved, so I thought you could come round one night this week and I can fill you in?"

"Sounds great love, you'll have to send me the address. You sound shattered, everything alright?" he asked.

"I've spent all day unpacking boxes I'm just about ready to sleep for a week. Unfortunately I don't have that option so never mind. Anyway, is Wednesday okay for you? I can't guarantee a tidy house mind," she looked around her.

"Wednesday sounds wonderful, just send me the details. I'll leave you be for now, we can catch up then. I look forward to see you," he told her. "Goodnight love."

#-#-#-#

Wednesday just came too fast. They had furniture in place thankfully, but there were still boxes everywhere. She had resigned herself to the fact it wasn't going to be any better for her Dad and instead focussed on cooking. "I don't understand why you're so stressed, your Dad was so easy going when it comes to tidiness."

"It's not my Dad I'm worried about," she sighed, "he text this morning and said Linda is coming too." Danny immediately looked angry, "please play nice I know you're still angry after that night but I can't deal with it tonight."

He walked over to her and put his arms around her, kissing her head, "I'll be good I promise I just hate seeing you so stressed," he told her. Clara leant into him, "if you need to escape I'll fake illness, just give me a signal."

"Deal," she chuckled. "Now go get changed!"

Just as Danny had gone upstairs the doorbell rang. Clara was actually a little grateful for the timing and went to open the door. "Hi Dad," she smiled and hugged him, "Linda," she nodded to her politely. "Come on in, the sofas arrived yesterday so you're in luck." They followed her through to the living room, "Take a seat, there's something I need to tell you straight off."

"Oh right?" Dave asked as they sat down.

Clara nodded and sat down opposite, taking a deep breath. "Danny's upstairs, we've moved in together. This is our house."

"Bloody hell that was fast," Linda immediately commented.

"Not really, not when you consider that my ex is currently living with his 5 month pregnant girlfriend," she shrugged off Linda's comment.

"Hold on," her Dad suddenly chipped in, trying to work it out, "5 months, that's before you broke up."

"Correct, but we've moved on from that. James is my past now, Danny is absolutely my present and future. You know how we used to be, this is everything we talked about back then," Clara smiled, looking around at the house. She stood up as Danny came in and walked over to him.

"I'll be honest with you Clara," Dave started, "I never saw you as happy again after Danny left. I'm glad you two have finally seen sense."

Linda made a ridiculous snort and Clara caught Danny tensing a little against her. "Yeah, we got there eventually," Clara interrupted the slightly awkward moment. "Anyway, dinner right? Should be nearly ready, we'll go and check it out and get wine," she told them and went towards the kitchen, taking Danny with her, "I need it," she whispered to him as they walked off.

"Why does she look at you like… well, like that?" Danny asked her as Clara crouched down and opened the oven.

Clara shook her head up at him, "it's not worth it, and in answer to your next question no I really think Dad doesn't realise." She pulled the lasagne out of the oven and placed it on the top. "I think we're ready. Can you pour the wine?" Danny realised she clearly didn't want to talk anymore about it and agreed, going off. He couldn't stand seeing her have to admit defeat like this, but if they could just get this done then at least she could be happy that her Dad knew what was going on.

Clara watched as Danny went off to get the wine. She turned back and cut up the lasagne into 4, albeit reluctantly. She couldn't wait for this night to be over, it surely couldn't get much worse.


	15. Chapter 15

Dinner was actually fairly pleasant in the end if Clara ignored the constant glare she was getting from Linda throughout. She had missed her Dad and it was nice to chat casually together. Danny and her Dad seemed to be getting on reasonably well too - much better than they ever had before. Danny started to clear the table as everyone had finished eating and took things through to the kitchen.

"You were much better off with James, he had a much better job. More money to sustain you," Linda said as soon as he had left the room.

"Linda we should bought a 3 bedroom house in a nice area not far from the centre of London, are you really worried about how much money we've got?" she rolled her eyes. "You never liked James anyway."

"Lesser of two evils," she shrugged.

Clara sighed and stood up, picking up the last few bits from the table. "Really? Was he? Because last time I checked he had spent a year cheating on me with my best friend."

"Maybe that says something about you more than him," she said very casually.

Clara slammed the bits back down on the table and her hands followed. "You have no right to say that," she told her. Linda stood up and walked round to her.

"I can say what I want, you're the one screwing up your life," she told her. Clara looked to her Dad who just seemed to be ignoring what was happening. "You're still just a stupid little girl."

"I'm finally happy, you're not going to ruin that. Why did you even come?! Just to judge my life and try and make me feel bad? You're just a witch!" Clara hated getting angry but she just couldn't help it. She watched Linda's face screw up and immediately knew what was about to happen. Clara ducked as the hand came at her face, but Linda managed to grab her. As she did Danny came back in the room and quickly pulled Linda away.

"Get off me you idiot!" she got away from Danny, patting herself down.

"What the hell were you doing?!" he shouted back at her. When she didn't answer he turned to Dave, "and were you just going to sit back and watch your wife attack your daughter? Get out both of you!"

wife attack your daughter?! Get out, both of you!" He held Clara who was shaking a little.

"You have no right to say that," Linda seethed at Danny.

"It's my house too," he replied.

"We're not your guests," she argued back.

Danny shook his head and looked at Dave, "take her home. Sort her out."

"Clara…" Dave finally spoke, aiming at his daughter.

Clara turned around finally and looked straight at her Dad, "I don't want you here."

That seemed to do the trick, Dave grabbed Linda's arm and they left in silence. As soon as the door shut Clara pushed Danny away and went into the kitchen. She started tidying, cleaning, doing anything. "You can leave that, come and sit down."

"I don't want to sit down Danny!" she snapped back, but immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry. I should never have had them here."

"He's your Dad Clara, you should be able to have him over. I just can't understand why he let Linda do that." Clara could see his anger, she hated seeing him worry like this. She walked over and kissed him gently. Danny ran his arms down her arms and took her hands, lifting them up and kissing each of them softly before pulling her back closer and kissing her head. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I can't make it better."

Clara shook her head and looked up at him, "you do make it better Danny, you're worth all this. But they're not coming back anytime soon," she added.

"Good, I want this house to be a safe place for you," Danny told her.

"You are my safe place," she smiled.

"Oh flattery will get you everywhere Miss Oswald," he grinned and kissed her softly. "Early night?"

"Sounds perfect," she told him and they went up.

#-#-#-#

Life seemed to settle down a bit. Clara and Danny found their life at home soon became a good routine and they eventually finished off buying all the furniture. It had been just over a month since that day with her Dad and he'd tried to contact her multiple times, but Clara had just shut him out, still angry with how he'd failed to protect her. She wanted to move on.

As term at school continued, Grace and Clara had really got into a flow running the department. She was, however, now almost 6 months pregnant and they were also having to consider her maternity leave. "Honestly everytime I see you you've ballooned!" Clara told Grace when she went into her room at lunch.

"You know earlier I was trying to remember why we're best friends - then I realised it's for all the wonderful compliments I get," Grace chuckled. "You're right though, this one is growing like mad recently," she rubbed her stomach gently. "Right little kicker too."

Clara chuckled, "I'll miss having you around here, it's nice to just wander next door. You're pretty useful professionally too," she grinned.

"I do my best," Grace told her. "So do you have a ring yet?" Clara groaned, she had been asked this by her friend daily since she had told her about the proposal. "It's been like 2 months!"

"I know, but I did _technically_ propose to him and-"

"You've got enough to deal with at the house," Grace finished for her, "except I know full well that is all sorted."

"Busted," Clara smiled, "honestly I don't care though. It's not about having a ring to show off, it's knowing I've got Danny back forever." They both looked round when the door opened and Clara saw Henry and Jasmine stood there. "Are you two dating yet?" Clara asked and they both looked a little embarrassed. "Finally! Bloody hell that was hard work. What do you want anyway?"

"Just need a word, you weren't in your room so-" Clara rolled her eyes. Neither of them had been speaking to Grace since everything happened and it was quite clear they didn't want to be here now.

"So? What did you need?" she asked. She could see they didn't want to say it in here but she was standing her ground. "Henry if you can't start being professional here I will have to start taking this seriously."

The following few moments of silence went on for far too long and Henry eventually turned to Jasmine, "it's not worth it, let's go," he replied and walked off. Clara looked to Grace, shaking her head before jumping off the desk she'd been sitting on and going out after them. She managed to get in front of them and stopped both in their tracks.

"My room, now. Jasmine off you go," she told them sternly. Both teachers looked at each other but could see she was serious and did as requested. Henry moped in to her room, but Clara wasn't having any of it. "I'm fed up with this attitude Henry. I employed you because I was so impressed with your maturity and work ethic but everytime I see you recently you're acting like a bloody teenager and you're bringing Jasmine down with you. What is your problem?"

Henry looked at Clara as if she should've known the answer to that, "her!" He finally said, pointing in the direction of Grace's classroom. Why are you acting so friendly?"

"Because we are friends? Why is it any of your business anyway? It's nothing to do with you who I am friends with. At first it was lovely you were both so protective but quite frankly it's getting silly now. Grace and I have smoothed things over, I'm happy with Danny and quite frankly that's all that matters, not that any of it should matter to you anyway," she told him.

Henry seemed even more angry at that, "yes it should," he replied.

"And why exactly is that?" Clara asked, rubbing her head a little in despair.

"Because I'm your brother!" He finally told her. Now she looked up, somewhat in shock but mostly in disbelief. Henry quickly realised he needed to be more specific. "Step-brother, technically."

"You're Linda's son?" she asked. "Why didn't you tell me? What are you spying on me or something? That explains why she didn't seem overly surprised about Grace and James then."

"Look I didn't tell you because I didn't want it to affect anything! I know what your relationship is like with my mother and believe me I know how she feels about you too, but I actually like you Clara - you're a fantastic boss. I just worry you're making the wrong decision with Grace," Henry explained.

"Then you're as bad as her thinking you can make decisions about my life for me. I've forgiven Grace, whether anyone else likes that or not isn't my problem. And as for us, we will never be related," she practically spat the words at him before storming out of her own room and down the corridor.

Clara made it to Danny's room just as the last couple of students were filing out from his revision session. As soon as they were out she walked in and shut, or rather slammed the door behind her. Danny jumped round and immediately realised how angry she was. "Woah who got you wound up?"

"Linda has a son," she told him, pacing the floor.

"Okay… I take it you didn't know that?" he asked.

"No. I didn't go to the wedding," Clara replied, trying to wind down.

"I'm still confused," Danny was trying to work it out.

"It's Henry! He's her son!" Clara shouted, kicking at the desk.

Danny walked over and stopped her in her tracks, "now what did that poor desk ever do to you?" he asked. Clara groaned at his sarcasm but he didn't let go of her arms, "calm down. We're not going to get anywhere if we don't talk rationally about this." He kept eye contact with her until she relaxed. "Come and sit down and then tell me."

They sat down eventually and Clara sat forward, placing her head in her hands, "do you think Dad knew?" she asked him.

"I don't know Clara, but if I'm honest I wouldn't put it past him right now," Danny spoke honestly, it wasn't worth giving her false hope right now. "So Henry is your step-brother?"

"Please don't call him that, we are not related," she grimaced.

"I'm afraid you are Clara," Danny replied, "I don't like it either, but it's a fact."

"I have nothing against Henry, not really, but he's been telling Linda everything?! He's been lying to me, or at least not telling me the truth and Linda… and then my Dad?! I need to phone him, I need to know," she sighed and grabbed her phone from her pocket.

"Are you sure now is a good time?" Danny asked, but she had already dialled the number. He could only sit back and watch.

Clara listened to the phone ring, it seemed to be forever before he answered but suddenly she realised she had no idea how to approach this conversation. "Clara, I'm so glad you've called I-"

"Did you know Linda's son works with me?" she went for the straight out approach.

"Clara I-" he started to reply, but she wasn't having it.

"Did you know?!" Clara felt Danny's hand on her arm as she shouted down the phone.

"Yes," he replied honestly. "Linda said not to tell you-"

"And you just went with that?! What on earth am I to you exactly? Tell your wife she's a lunatic and don't call me again." Clara hung up, going to throw her phone down but Danny stopped her arm and took the phone off her.

"You'll regret that," he told her and put the phone down out of the way. Clara didn't know what to do, she found herself growling in anger. "You need to calm Clara, don't let them win."

Her heart was still pounding, the sudden realisation of everything going on really hitting her. "My own Dad has betrayed me. What has happened Danny? I've lost him."

"He doesn't deserve you, he's let you down," Danny told her. Clara nodded, and leant over to him, tears inevitably building up in her eyes. "None of this is fair, but you can't let them win, do not let them affect you. We've got so much ahead of us sweetheart," he kissed her head. A knock on the door disturbed them as Danny helped Clara calm down. She looked up suddenly, "it's just Grace," he told her and gestured for her to come in.

"What happened?" Grace shut the door, going over and looking concerned. "I heard shouting."

Danny looked down at Clara who just shrugged as if to tell him to speak, "Henry is Linda's son. Turns out he's been telling Linda everything about Clara and Dave seemed to know about him, but nobody had actually told her," he sighed. "It's all a bit of a mess really."

"Yeah I can see, this is seriously out of order I can't believe what that woman gets away with, she's always treated you wrong and your Dad just doesn't see it. I just can't believe Henry…" Grace shook her head, "it's out of order. I mean look, look what this does to you. Your family should not make you feel like that."

"Could you just sit with Clara a minute?" Danny suddenly asked and Clara noticed his attention had moved and he shot out of the door before either of them could respond.

Grace looked confused, "what's all that about?" she asked Clara who was still staring at the door which was closing behind him.

It took a moment for her brain to click, "damn, he's spotted Henry," she quickly stood up and ran out after him. The end of this corridor led to the English storeroom - now wasn't the time to argue about why it was so far away from the English corridor - and she could hazard a guess that Henry was heading there. She ran to the end and opened the door, immediately finding what she was afraid of - Danny had him backed against the wall.

"Do you have any idea what your mother has done?!" Danny shouted.

Clara ran in and got between them, "Danny please, not now. Not ever, in fact. I want nothing to do with my supposed family anymore so what is the point in this?"

"Clara I'm sorry I-" Henry started, but she held a hand up to him.

"You shared my private life with a woman you know full well would use that against me, you have a lot to learn about being a sibling. You're a good teacher, keep doing that, but keep your damn mouth shut about me to your bloody mother," she told him. "Danny let's go, he's not worth it." Clara grabbed him and pushed him out of the room. "I know you're angry but that is not the way forward. I still have to work with him remember."

Danny took a deep breath, "I'm sorry love, I just hate how upset he's made you," he told her. "We should go for a walk, we both need to calm down."

"I need to speak to Grace, I kinda left her in the lurch, but then yes," she told him.

They made their way back to his room and told Grace everything was alright before making their way out of the school grounds. There wasn't long left of the lunch break now but the 10 minutes they had were almost necessary. "I love you, you are so important to me," Clara told him, taking his hand when they were out of the way of the school.

"Likewise, I can't stand seeing people hurt you," he told her, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I noticed," she chuckled softly, "but however many people try and hurt me I know I've always got you, you'll always be my rock," Clara leant into him as they walked.

They stopped at one of the corners in the park and Danny pulled her close, kissing her head. "Can I give you something?"

Clara nodded and stepped back from him, not thinking much of it. Danny smiled and reached into his pocket before getting down on one knee. "What the hell are you doing it's muddy!" she chuckled a little nervously. "Besides, didn't we do this bit already?"

"We did, but I still wanted to give you this properly," he smiled and pulled the box out of his pocket. "I've been carrying this around for a few days I didn't really know when I was going to give it to you, and maybe this isn't the most romantic place either but we've been coming to this park for a long time now and well… I just want to show you how much you mean to me," he opened the box. "I won't ask you again, but here is your engagement ring Miss Oswald."

A gasp escaped her mouth as she looked down at the beautiful silver ring with an emerald just big enough to add character to the ring. It was perfect, it was- "how long have you had this?" she asked, letting him slip it on her finger before standing up.

"Well, a little while I suppose," he shrugged.

"Danny," she glared at him.

"Alright, so I bought it after we saw it in that shop. I wasn't planning on proposing just then, it wasn't the right time and we were only 17, but I knew it was perfect and your reaction was too much not to have it. I didn't expect to wait quite so long to use it, but I did get it all cleaned and everything," he told her honestly. Clara smiled in delight and bought her hands up to her face in shock, happy tears filling her eyes. "What?"

Shaking her head she just about managed to reply, "why did I ever let you slip away? You're perfect," she told him and wrapped her arms around him for a kiss. Their moment was eventually broken by the sound of the school bell in the distance behind them. "Damn… fancy a jog?"

"Race you," he grinned and they both ran off back to their classrooms.

#-#-#-#

Avoiding Henry became a fine art and was alright until the next staff meeting arrived a few days later. Clara sat at her desk staring into space, her daydream only disrupted by the sound of the door opening. "Oi where have you been, barely seen you since Monday. Are you sure everything's okay?"

Clara nodded, "just been trying to keep out of his way. Spent a lot of time in Danny's room to be honest because he won't go near there after Monday." She shut the lid of her laptop and picked it up to slip in her desk.

"Clara Oswald!" Grace suddenly shrieked. Clara looked up at her, completely confused. "What is that?!" Clara followed where her finger was now pointing - straight at her ring.

"Oh, that," Clara smiled a little. "That is the ring you kept badgering me about."

"No kidding?! When did this happen exactly?" Grace asked, leaping forward and taking her hand.

"Monday lunch…" Clara replied a little sheepishly.

"Monday?! That's 3 days ago! Why am I only finding out now?"

"I've been a little busy avoiding my new step-brother," she mumbled before looking up, "sorry, I was going to tell you. There's a lot to tell you but-" she was interrupted by the door again and looked up to see Jasmine and Henry walk in, "-maybe not right now." Grace looked around and realised what she meant.

"Gotcha, but I'm coming round after work - I want detail and I need to see your new place," she grinned and Clara knew she couldn't say no.

Grace tried to save her from any impending conversation by immediately turning round to speak to Jasmine who thankfully seemed to have got over her grudge. Clara immediately went off to pretend she was looking at something. It was hard to avoid her disappointment when Henry followed her over. "If this isn't professional I don't even want you to open your mouth," she warned him.

"Actually I just have some marking that needs overseeing as part of the portfolio," he replied and Clara sighed, looking round.

"Fine, just drop them in whenever. Leave them on my desk if I'm not here. Don't worry, I'm not going to sabotage your portfolio," not that the thought hadn't crossed her mind.

Henry looked a little confused, "I never thought you would. Clara you're a good person I didn't want any of this."

"Then why lie?" she was quick to respond, but Henry wasn't so much. "Exactly. Just sit down and let's get this meeting over and done with."

Thankfully the meeting was actually quite useful, most people had good input which always left Clars feeling a little more positive at the end of the half hour. She said goodbye to everyone and sat back in her chair, enjoying the silence of the last 5 minutes. That was quickly disturbed, but she didn't mind when she looked up and saw Danny. "You survived it then?"

Clara nodded, standing up and walking over to him, "had a brief conversation with Henry but he's still not got it. The meeting was good though, really productive," she smiled. "Oh, and Grace is coming over tonight. She spotted the ring…"

"You hadn't told her?!" Clara rolled her eyes, "sorry you've probably had that conversation."

"Yeah little bit," she chuckled, "figured it'd be easier to tell her at home if that's okay?"

"Course it is, I'll cook for 3," he smiled.

"It's my turn to cook though," she pointed out.

"You'll be busy, I'm sure I'll survive!" Danny took her hand and lifted it up, kissing the ring finger gently. "Still can't quite believe you're finally wearing it."

"I still can't believe you actually bought it - 10 years ago!" Clara looked down at their hands. "I guess we have some planning to do."

"I can't wait," he smiled, "however in the meantime I have maths to teach. I'll see you at the end of the day." Clara nodded and let him go, smiling once more.

#-#-#-#

" _The things I do for you," Danny grumbled as they walked along the high street._

 _Clara chuckled, "it's only shopping Danny, I'm not asking you to jump in front of a car."_

" _You might as well be," he sighed. Clara rolled her eyes and stopped walking as they came to a jewellery store. "Don't you have enough earrings?"_

" _I'm not actually going to buy anything here Danny it's far too expensive! I just like to look, they make beautiful stuff it's all unique handmade stuff," she told him and studied everything in the window. "It's always stunning and there's always new stuff in the window, that's why I like to look."_

 _Danny stuck his arm around her waist and did look in with her, Clara looked over everything before suddenly her gaze stopped. Danny followed it to the ring she was looking at, "how stunning is that? So simple and elegant. Not your normal engagement ring, I like slightly obscure things."_

" _It is very beautiful, everything here is very different," he observed, a thought coming into his mind that he kept quiet. "But we don't have long, we should probably go."_

" _Too true, but a girl can dream," Clara smiled and turned away, walking off towards the shopping centre._

 _The next day Danny went back to the jewellers and walked in. He spoke to someone about the ring, at first they wouldn't take him seriously - he was only 17 after all, but he had come prepared. Now he was older his parents paid him properly for his work at the café - it had become a proper job which meant he had paychecks. He also had savings, and once he produced various documents the staff were convinced by his request to put a deposit down to hold the ring back. It was going to take time, but they gave him a deadline and he was determined to stick to it._

 _It took 3 months of seriously hard working, his parents did know what he was doing and they did give him a couple of bonuses which he was grateful for. They were also great at playing along with his story to Clara who would occasionally question why he was always working. It would be worth it, one day it would be very worth it._

Clara finished telling Grace the story behind the ring and she was tearing up, "my gosh Clara that is the most romantic thing I've ever heard. It's honestly beautiful," she was covering her mouth with her hands in shock. Clara blushed a little, "it's such a beautiful ring and such a beautiful story."

"I struck lucky," she smiled in reply, looking round when Danny came in, "very lucky - I mean that apron look is sexy."

Danny rolled his eyes, "alright cheeky. Dinner's ready if you two have finished gossiping."

They all sat down at the table together and tucked into the meal. "Okay he can cook too, you're onto a winner here girl," Grace vaguely directed her fork towards Danny and nodded.

Clara chuckled, "I've got a thing for good cooks," she shrugged. "Infact this guy practically taught me to cook."

"I do my best," Danny smiled.

They ate and cleared up, "I'd best get going, thank you so much for dinner it was lovely." Grace smiled at Danny who nodded and went back to finish loading the dishwasher. "He's still not my biggest fan is he?" Grace asked as she slipped her shoes on.

"It's going to take time, but he accepts my decision and he's trying. We all are," she told her and Grace nodded in agreement. "This was a good start."

"It was, thank you for having me. I'll see you tomorrow," Grace thanked her before leaving. Clara shut the door and locked it, heading back into the kitchen where Danny was standing on his phone.

"You alright?" she asked, "thank you for dinner it was lovely. And thank you for tonight in general, I know that wasn't easy for you, but your support means a lot."

Danny nodded, putting his phone down, "I'm glad you have your best friend back and she really does care about you, it's just gonna take me a bit of time."

"I get that, but I think you're safe from her advances," she grinned and kissed him, "you're all mine."

"Deal," Danny replied and kissed her again, "bed?" Clara nodded and grabbed his hand, heading upstairs.


	16. Chapter 16

She hadn't spoken to her Dad in months. Life just moved on, she didn't want to speak to him after everything that had happened. He tried to contact her for a while but eventually he too seemed to give up on the contact. Danny and Clara made their life their own and made every effort to enjoy their new home and life together. Wedding planning was in full swing as well which, despite the stresses involved, made both of them very happy.

It was Grace's last day before going on maternity leave and Clara was just a little stressed trying to organise everything for her leaving and her party after work. Danny walked in at lunchtime, "not now!" she snapped a little, not even looking at who had walked in, only gauging it wasn't a student with the little glance she got. She did quickly realise what she'd done and turned around, spotting Danny looking a little shocked at the door, "sorry, I'm just fed up of people hassling me today, it's like everyone wants a bit of me."

"Well I don't blame them," Danny grinned and Clara rolled her eyes, "I know I know, not a time for jokes. Just stop and take a breathe for a minute, please?" He walked over and put a hand on each of her arms, rubbing them gently. "You're overstressing, it's not good. Now tell me what I can do?"

"Retrain as an English teacher and become my deputy in the next 3 days?" she suggested.

"Sorry, not even you are making me read Shakespeare," Danny grinned.

"One day I will fix that," she replied, "Arnold has politely informed me he wants me to give Henry a chance as deputy while Grace is on mat leave, he thinks it'll be good experience for him."

"I'm guessing when you say politely…" Danny started and Clara nodded.

"I don't have much choice. I think he's actually already spoken to Henry too," she complained and sat down on one of the desks. "As if this wasn't going to be a bad enough period."

Danny followed her and let her rest against him as he stood in front of her and kissed her head gently, he'd not been ignorant to how stressed she was about not having Grace by her side when they'd become such a team recently. "Henry is not his mother."

"No, but he's influenced by her and if she finds another way to get at me I wouldn't put past her anymore." Danny knew she was right, but he also knew she couldn't let this hold her hostage.

"Don't let her. Speak to Henry, lay down the rules. At the end of the day this is your department and you make the final decisions. He's not as experienced as Grace, but maybe the responsibility will stop him relying on his mother too much."

Clara nodded and looked up, kissing him gently, "thank you, what would I do without you?"

"Work yourself to death probably," he pointed out and Clara couldn't really disagree. "Now, what can I do to help?"

#-#-#-#

When Grace walked into the staffroom and saw all the cakes and presents she knew it must have been Clara's doing. She thanked everyone and told them to start eating, going over to Clara who was stood with Danny. "You didn't have to do all this!"

"Yes I did, you're my best friend and you deserve it. Besides you've won everyone back again and they were more than happy to get baking and of course eat cake," she chuckled and glanced over at the mass of teachers eating various varieties.

"Almost everyone of course," Grace pointed out.

"Oh yeah, well he's jumping in your grave too," Clara rolled her eyes.

"Henry, really? He's only been qualified 18 months and you're still checking his plans," Grace questioned.

"Trust me I'm not thrilled either, but Arnold had his say and there's not much I can do about it. I'm hoping it will teach him a lesson, but we'll see. Either way trust me your job will be there when you come back, I'll miss having you by my side," she told her and hugged her.

"I'll miss seeing so much of you, I'll come and visit as soon as I can," Grace smiled. They'd already had the conversation and Clara really couldn't face going to their house after the birth.

Clara smiled and nodded, "now go talk to other people, I need tea," she chuckled and walked over to the kitchen area with Danny.

"You're doing amazing, I'm so proud," he kissed the top of her head gently, "you need some fresh air?"

"No, no tea will be fine," Clara smiled and poured the kettle as it boiled. She was half way through pouring Danny's mug when there was a squeal from behind and she jumped a little, a small amount of water hitting her hand. Danny hadn't noticed as she pulled her hand out quickly and put the kettle down, turning to see where he was looking. It took Clara a moment to work it out but then she saw - Grace's waters had broken. Instinctively she ran over, moving everyone who was just crowding her cluelessly. "If you're not gonna help then please get out the way. Keep eating my all means, there's plenty of cake, but this isn't a show," she told them which got rid of most of the rabble. "Grace talk to me, have you been having contractions?"

"I… I guess so, I just put it down to nerves but all afternoon there's been something maybe every half hour?" she replied, "Clara I'm scared, it's too early," she sounded panicked. Clara took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"It's only 4 weeks early, everything can be fine. Come on, let's go to the medical room so you can lie down. If you're okay with it I can have a look and work out how far along you are so we know what to do next?" she suggested and Grace nodded. "Alright, come on."

She escorted her friend down the corridor. They had to stop for about 30 seconds as a definite contraction hit, but they soon made it and Grace lay down on the medical bed. As promised Clara had a look, thankful for the various random medical books she read as a teenager. "Grace you're 4cm dilated, we need to get you to hospital this is active labour."

"If you say so," she replied, seething a little as another contraction hit. Clara immediately looked at her watch.

"Grace that was only 3 minutes. When you said every half hour…"

"I might have been lying," she shouted a little louder than intended. "Sorry…" she added as the pain started to wear off.

"This is going fast now, I'm going to get someone to phone an ambulance and…" she paused, "you should phone James. He should come here, I don't know if you'll get to the hospital."

"Please don't go," she took Clara's hand.

"I'm not, that's what mobiles are for," she smiled and pulled hers out of her pocket. "You can use it after," she told her and immediately phoned 999.

The paramedics were there within 2 minutes, apparently the ambulance was only round the corner which Clara was insanely grateful for - despite appearances she wasn't an expert in delivering a baby. She explained what was going on to them while Grace was on the phone to James. Unfortunately they were interrupted as another contraction came, "that's only 3 minutes again," she told them. "It's all moving kinda fast."

While the ambulance crew got to work examining Grace and getting the gas and air ready for her, Clara went back to her and realised she was still technically on the phone, but unable to talk. She knew that left her with only one option and took the phone back from her, "Grace what's happening are you okay?"

"James it's Clara, she's having another contraction. You sound like you're on hands free?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm on my way. Thank you for looking after her," he replied, "I don't just mean today."

"Not the time James, just get here for Grace - she needs you here. Get it right for someone," she said, maybe a little harshly, before hanging up.

"Clara!" she heard Grace and Clara quickly stuck her phone away and went back to her, "They said I have to push, I can't, I can't do it," Clara looked over the paramedics.

"There isn't enough time to get her in, this baby is coming now. We need something to wrap the baby, normally warm towels, and a bowl of water if possible?" The female paramedic explained to her.

Clara nodded and whispered to Grace to tell her she'd be back soon. She opened the door and unsurprisingly Danny was waiting there, she quickly told him what they needed and sent him away before returning to Grace. "Listen, you can do this. James is on the way and I'm right here until he arrives."

"No, I don't want him in here until the baby is born, please stay," she replied and Clara nodded, unable to reply as the paramedics interrupted.

"On your next contraction we need you to push Grace, we have everything under control I promise, you just focus on pushing," they tried to reassure her.

Clara kept her going, she kept talking as the contraction came on, kept telling her to breathe as she pushed, just did the best she could. When Danny arrived with the bits she'd asked for she told him to keep James outside if he arrived and with that he was gone again. Her attention was turned back to Grace and encouraging her.

"The head is out, that's wonderful work Grace. On the next contraction we just need one more big push, you can do this," the paramedic encouraged her.

Clara smiled at her, brushing her hair back. "You've got this, you're doing amazing sweetheart, I'm so proud of you," she reassured her.

"I'm so sorry Clara, I'm so sorry for all of this," Grace spoke through a mix of sweat, tears and exhaustion.

Shaking her head Clara squeezed her hand, "stop it. The past is the past, we've said what needs to be said and we're here now. You're about to deliver the most beautiful baby and I'm gonna spoil them rotten," she grinned. Grace almost smiled back but a contraction took hold and it was time to push again. "Come on, you can do this, breathe for me, keep pushing, one more push." It seemed longer than it probably was but suddenly there was a cry from the end of the bed and Grace collapsed back in relief, finally able to properly smile. "You did it, you really did it!"

"You have an absolutely gorgeous baby girl," the paramedic finished wrapping the baby up and checking her over before bringing her round to Grace. Clara moved so they could place the baby in her friend's arms. "She's incredibly healthy. We need to get you both to hospital now obviously, but you're welcome to hold her."

"Oh she's beautiful Grace, she's absolutely beautiful," Clara smiled.

They disappeared to get the chair to take her to the ambulance and as they opened the door Clara followed, finding James standing outside awkwardly with Danny. "You have a little girl," she told him, "go be with them, I've done my bit." She held the door open and let him go in and then let it shut behind her. Danny walked over, taking her hand. "Let's go home." He nodded, understanding and they left.

#-#-#-#

 _Thank you, you helped deliver my beautiful baby girl and I can't thank you enough. Meet Elizabeth Claire, your goddaughter?_

Clara couldn't tear her eyes away from the picture of the baby in Grace's arms - she was so small but so perfect. She was sat up in bed, Danny had gone down to make them tea before they settled down with a film. The text had come through just after he left the room and she hadn't looked away since. She couldn't decide what to reply.

"I bring tea and I even found some cake," Danny walked in the room with a tray but spotted that she didn't look up, "everything okay?" He put the tray down on the side table and sat beside her, looking at her phone. "Is that- sorry, stupid question."

"Elizabeth Claire, she's beautiful - has her mother's eyes," Clara smiled a little, but it didn't last long. "Grace wants me to be godmother. I don't know what to say."

"Do you want to?" Danny asked.

"For Grace and for Elizabeth, yes," she replied. "But there's always James' shadow hanging over me."

Danny sat back and put an arm around her, allowing Clara to rest against his shoulder. "Look at that photo, that beautiful little girl. As I stood outside that room with James I realised something - that little girl doesn't deserve all this tension between us. It all feels so ridiculous when you consider that all 4 of us are happy now and you and Grace are friends again. Elizabeth deserves the best and in my opinion that means you as a godmother."

He kissed her head gently and Clara continued to stare at the picture, "you're right, we have to get over this for her."

 _I'd be honoured. She's beautiful, well done sweetheart x._

Clara put her phone down on the side and turned to Danny, "thank you."

"No problem," he handed her the mug of tea, "press play then," he nodded to the frozen TV screen and Clara smiled, resting back into him and starting the film.

#-#-#-#

It took a couple of moments for Clara to build up the courage but she finally stepped out of her car and walked up to the door, knocking. The door opened fairly swiftly, "Clara! Oh Grace will be so thrilled you're here, come in I'll put the kettle on," James greeted her and she smiled politely. "No Danny?"

"No he has a meeting tonight," Clara walked in. "How're Dad duties coming along?"

"Challenging, but we're muddling on," he chuckled. "Go on through, I'll be in shortly."

Clara left him and went into the lounge where she could Grace sat feeding Elizabeth. She looked up and smiled, "I'd stand up but this one gets in one hell of a mood if her feed is interrupted. Thank you so much for coming I… well, I know it can't have been easy."

"Elizabeth is far more important than any of our grudges," Clara smiled, sitting down when Grace gestured for her to do so. "How are you?"

"Absolutely knackered, but wouldn't swap this for the world," she smiled at Clara and then back down at Elizabeth. "Hey, your Auntie Clara wants to see you when you're finished there," she spoke to the little girl.

"Hey the girl got her priorities right," Clara chuckled, "It's good to see you looking so well."

"Thank you, how are things at work?" Grace asked.

"We're just about coping without you, but the birth story still hasn't got old yet," she grinned. It had only been a week and she was constantly getting questions about it.

Grace blushed a little, "that wasn't the birth plan I made honestly."

"I mean I know you love work but that was a bit of a stretch. The cleaners almost had a heart attack!" Clara teased her. "In all honesty though, you did amazing. Obviously your little angel wanted as much time with her Mummy before she returned to work. Couldn't have managed more if she tried."

"Well if you look at it that way she had perfect timing," Grace grinned and reorganised herself as Elizabeth finished eating. "Happy now?" a small gurgle told her what she needed to know. "Excellent, now for the very ladylike bit," she chuckled and moved Elizabeth so she could wind her.

"You're taking to this wonderfully Grace, you're a wonderful Mum," Clara couldn't help but be so happy for her best friend, especially given how suddenly the little one had arrived.

Once Grace had finished sorting Grace she turned to Clara, "you want a hold?"

"Of course, I'll swap you -" she put the gift bag she'd been holding at Grace's feet before carefully taking Elizabeth. "Hello sweetheart," she smiled, rocking her ever so slightly. "I got a little carried away," she told Grace as she picked up the bag.

"Oh you already did enough Clara you didn't have to do this…" she told her.

"Isn't it a godmother's job to spoil their goddaughter?" Clara looked at Elizabeth as she spoke, "oh yes, you and me are gonna be best friends."

"Oh god you're gonna be plotting against me aren't you?" Grace groaned and Clara smirked. She rolled her eyes and looked down in the bag, "Oh my god Clara did you buy the whole shop?"

"I may have got a little carried away…" she shrugged, not looking up from Elizabeth who was settling down and on the verge of falling asleep.

"You are incredible, this is too much," she pulled out the piles of clothes and various other little bits. "I really appreciate this, thank you."

"Oh my goodness there's been an explosion of clothes in here," James bought in the tea and spotted all the bits Grace had got out. "Was this all you?" he asked Clara and she nodded, "well thank you. And Elizabeth seems to have taken to you well, you've already got her to sleep!"

"Either that or I'm really boring," Clara replied.

"No comment," Grace butted in and Clara gave her a look. "Hey you're holding the baby, what you gonna do?" she smirked.

"Get you later," she grinned. "I think she's completely gone, do you want me to put her down or?"

"That would be amazing, I'll come up with you," Grace smiled.

#-#-#-#

Clara slumped down on the sofa where Danny was already sat.

"You look knackered," he commented, kissing her head. "How was it?"

"Actually alright… I mean everything with James still felt a little awkward but it was okay. How was yours?" she asked, resting against him.

"Yeah it was okay it was… yeah, okay." Clara looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"You are not very convincing, what's wrong?" she asked. Danny shrugged his shoulders, trying to end the conversation there.

"Why would anything be wrong?" he asked.

Clara paused a moment and studied his face, "something isn't right. I've known you a long time Danny Pink, you can't hide anything from me. What is it?"

"I got a phone call earlier, one of my mates from the army, he um… there was a big attack, 3 of them died in the explosion," he told her.

"You should have called me! Danny I'm so sorry," she sat up and knelt so she could face him, placing a hand on each cheek and pulling their heads together. "I'd have come straight back."

"I didn't want to disturb you, it's not that important," he shrugged.

"3 of your friends died, how is that not important?" Clara told him.

"It's the army, it's the risk we take from the moment we sign up," he explained. "I just can't stop thinking about if- if it had ever happened to me…" she shook her head and kissed him softly to stop him talking.

"Don't say it, don't. I don't want to think about it," she kissed him again. "You're home and you're safe and you're with me. Look at me, look," Clara made sure he had made eye contact before continuing, "I love you so much and whatever support you need you tell me, wherever I am." Danny kissed her once more, almost desperate for the comfort and Clara could tell. She moved, wrapping her arms around him and holding him gently. "It's just us now, and it's late - let's go to bed."

They went up without really speaking and climbed into bed, "I'm sorry," Danny spoke as Clara got in beside him.

"Don't you dare apologise, I don't want to hear it," Clara told him and held his hand softly, lifting it to kiss the top softly. "Goodnight sweetheart."

#-#-#-#

Clara was woken suddenly by the movement beside her and she sat up, looking round. Danny appeared to be dreaming and it wasn't going well. She moved and went to get close to him but he started thrashing and his arm met her head at high speed causing her to jump back instinctively. "Danny?" she quickly returned to his side, being a little more observant this time. "You're alright, you're safe you're just at home with me." Clara kept speaking to him. Suddenly he sat up and she moved with him. Danny took deep breaths, calming himself down from what had just happened. Clara carefully put a hand on his shoulder to get him to look at her. "Talk to me."

"Memories, bad ones, exaggerated but… they happened. I…" he looked over at her, "what happened to your face?" he changed his sentence and reached out to her. It was only now Clara felt the blood running down her cheek and she looked down to spot it on her top. Danny stared at it for a moment when Clara didn't answer and then looked at his own hand. When he realised what had happened he suddenly looked panicked.

Clara quickly intervened, "no, this isn't your fault okay? It's just an accident, it's fine."

"Clara that cut is deep, it needs checking out. I'm just gonna get something to put on it," he stood up and walked away before Clara could reply, but quickly returned with a clean teatowel. "Here. How did it get that deep I…"

"It wasn't you, not really," she told him. Danny tried to work this out and studied the room. "I must have got you, the bruising… but then, you were pushed back and-" his eyes fixed on the corner of the cabinet that sat next to the bed and the small amount of blood. "I'm taking you to hospital, it needs checking further."

"Danny it's just a cut," she replied, trying to calm him down. Suddenly she started to feel a little dizzy and shut her eyes just briefly, but unfortunately long enough for him to notice.

"What, what is it? You're feeling faint aren't you? Clara for goodness sake you must have hit your head hard, please let me take you in." She couldn't argue anymore and leant into him, unable to sit up. "Clara? Talk to me." All she could manage was a little noise. "No you don't, we're going now. Right now."

Danny stood up and picked her up, taking her out to the car as quickly as he could, only slipping shoes on as he went by. Clara was drowsy in his arms, only just holding on to him as he put her down in the car and strapped her in, reassuring her all the time. He drove to the hospital in record time and pulled up at the front entrance, quickly jumping out and opening the door.

"You can't park there sir," he heard a voice from behind him.

"My fiancé needs help, she won't wake up," Danny unclipped her belt and picked her up, finally looking round. The voice turned out to be a doctor who quickly ran over and then called for help. He led Danny towards the door where a trolley appeared and he was able to lay her down. "I need to…"

"I'll move your car, don't worry I'm insured," Danny looked round to see one of the porters holding a hand out and right at that moment he didn't really care who it was.

"Keys are in the ignition," he replied and ran after the team with Clara. "I was… dreaming, I guess, I hit her and she hit the corner of the bedside cabinet hard, at least that's what I think happened. She didn't want to come in but she suddenly went really faint and then she stopped talking to me. She hasn't stopped breathing, but she won't wake up now. Um… she's normally healthy, she had a miscarriage a few months ago but otherwise no health problems," he shook his head and watched as they moved her onto the bed.

"What's her name?" the doctor asked, beginning to examine her.

"Clara, Clara Oswald, please you have to help her this is my fault." Danny felt one of the nurses put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm Keeley, come with me and we'll get you a cup of tea while they help her," she tried to lead him out.

"I can't leave her, I promised," he shook his head.

"She's in good hands - Graham he as good as it gets down here I assure you. Clara needs to be with our team now," Keeley explained. Danny eventually gave in and followed her out, taking one last look back and silently praying she would be okay.


	17. Chapter 17

It felt like hours Danny was sat there. He tried to phone Dave but predictably he didn't answer and quite frankly he didn't have the energy to keep trying him. The nurse who had come in with him left eventually, she had more important things to be doing and Danny didn't really want the company. He kept looking down at the blood on his hand, guilt washing over him each time. This wasn't right, Clara wasn't meant to get mixed up in his messes from the army, that was the whole reason they split up in the first place. Right now it seemed that all that pain had been for nothing.

When the door opened and the doctor walked in Danny stood up, trying to read her face.

"You're Miss Oswald's boyfriend?" she asked.

"Call her Clara, she hates being called Miss Oswald outside of work. I'm Danny," he told her and she nodded.

"My name's Doctor Grainger, I'm looking after Clara. She's stable now, but we are about to transfer her up to ITU. It looks like there's a small bleed under her skull, we think it will be harmless but she needs close monitoring for the next 48 hours. You can go with her if you like," she explained.

"Is she awake?" he asked nervously.

"Not at the moment, but we have given her a bit of sedation. We expect her to come round in the next couple of hours and it's really important she's kept calm so a familiar face will be good," Dr Grainger smiled politely and Danny nodded. "Let me take you through."

Clara was lying so still and there were so many tubes hanging out but he knew there must be a good reason for them all. He followed them as they pushed her round the hospital and into the intensive care unit. Once she was set up on the multiple machines he was finally able to sit with her in relative peace. He took her hand and kissed it gently, looking up to her head and stroking back bits of hair that had fallen over her face and revealing the dressing over wound they had stitched. "Oh my love, I'm so sorry."

#-#-#-#

Clara opened her eyes slowly, she could already feel all the tubes and she knew where she was. She looked round and spotted Danny asleep in the chair beside her - maybe she wouldn't make her conscious level clear just yet. There was a clock on the wall that read 07:52 so it must have been about 6 hours since they'd left home. It was starting to come back to her what had happened and she sighed softly, looking at Danny again. He looked so peaceful and- no, he was twitching, something wasn't right again. Clara quickly found her patient button and pressed it, she'd never seen a nurse arrive so quickly.

"You're awake, how are you feeling?" she asked, checking all the monitors.

"Hell of a headache, but can you wake Danny before you worry about me," she looked over at him in the chair. "Please, just trust me."

The nurse nodded. Seeing how concerned Clara was and knowing she needed keeping calm she wasn't going to argue and walked around, gently shaking Danny's shoulder. He woke up with a start and after a few quick breaths he settled. Clara reached out and took his hand, squeezing it gently as he calmed down.

"You're awake," he stood up quickly, for the moment ignoring what had just happened.

"Well observed," Clara replied.

"Sorry, you said about your head?" the nurse asked.

"Yeah, you sound surprised, I did hit it pretty hard you know?"

"Clara," Danny got her attention, "they're only trying to look after you. The scan showed you have a little bleed on your brain, they need to keep a close eye."

"Oh, right, sorry…" she looked around again, "where _exactly_ am I?"

"Let's start at the beginning," the nurse decided, "this is the intensive care unit. My name's Claire and we're monitoring you as your partner just said. I just need to try and gauge the pain at the moment, where would you put it between 0 and 10?"

"Maybe 7?" Clara replied, "sorry for the sarcasm, it's a kind of defensive thing."

"No problem, I'm just glad you're not trying to hit me. I'll go and speak to the doctor about more pain relief now you're awake. Just try to keep calm, it's important your blood pressure stays down," she explained and disappeared out of the room.

"Are you okay?" Clara asked Danny who quite frankly looked rather pale.

"Isn't that my line?" he replied.

"Yep, but only one of us is getting medical attention already. Are you okay?" she asked again.

"I… I'm not perfect, but I'll be alright. It's nothing I haven't had before, I just thought it was over now. But let's have this conversation properly when you're better alright?" he suggested.

"One condition - go to the GP today, ask for help, at least something to help you sleep. Please, for me?" she squeezed his hand gently. "I love you, I want to support you but right now I'm a little… tied up…" she tried to stay it with a straight face but couldn't help smiling a little, as did Danny. "That's better."

"I'll phone them when they open, promise," he replied.

At this point Claire reappeared with a bag of fluid. "Ah good, more lines going into me," Clara said.

"It's IV paracetamol, we just have to be careful at the moment because of the bleed. Has the pain got any worse?" she asked.

"No, better if anything," she looked at Danny as she spoke.

"Oh gosh you two are going to be cringy," Claire complained but smiled as she said it, hooking up the drip. "This should start working shortly. If you need to shut your eyes and rest then that's fine."

"I might just do that. Danny, go home. Shower, change, phone work and tell them what's going on and then do as we agreed. I'll see you later okay? And please stop blaming yourself, this was all a stupid accident," she pulled on his hand gently so he came closer and she could reach up and pull him down for a kiss. "I wouldn't change you for the world, nevermind a little bump on the head," she whispered to him.

"That's lucky then because I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," he kissed her forehead. "See you later."

Clara nodded and shut her eye, the bright hospital lights starting to get a bit too much before she drifted off to sleep.

#-#-#-#

Danny walked into the empty house and sank down into the sofa, grabbing his phone and dialing the GPs phone number. By some small miracle he got straight through and managed to get an appointment that morning. He showered and dressed quickly before driving down to the school.

"No offence but you look dreadful," Danny's friend and department manager Paul came up to him. "You appear to be missing one half of you." He always joked when Clara wasn't with him.

"She's in hospital," Danny replied. "I'm not staying, I'm here to sort out some cover for us both."

"Oh damn I'm sorry, is everything alright? Well obviously it's not but like… what happened?" he got to the point eventually.

"She's got a small bleed on the brain, bashed her head hard - long story. Been there since 2 this morning and she's not long come round. Been a long night."

"Sounds it. Listen mate you go, I'll sort out your lessons," Paul told him. "Keep me updated yeah?" Danny nodded and left, going off to find Henry.

He eventually tracked him down in his classroom and knocked on the already open door. Henry looked up, "not quite who I was expecting."

"No. Clara won't be in for the next few days at least, she's in hospital and being closely monitored. You'll have to sort cover out - perks of the job. Oh, and if you see your mother get her damn husband to ring me - his daughter is seriously ill and he won't answer the phone," Danny complained. He had tried Dave twice more that morning with no luck. He didn't give Henry a chance to ask anymore questions before he left.

He hated the GPs surgery. The relative silence of the waiting room while everyone tried to avoid eye contact didn't fill him with great joy. Nonetheless he had promised Clara he would do this so here he was. He almost missed his name being called but thankfully they repeated it and he went through to the requested room.

"How can I help?" the doctor asked as he sat down.

"I… don't really know," Danny started. "I've been having some fairly… disturbed sleep. Bad dreams, or flashbacks, I don't know how to explain it. I'm ex army and I had some bad news yesterday, I guess it's opened old wounds. I was trying to push through it but it - well - it's causing problems now. I think I need to sort out the sleeping," he tried to explain although it didn't feel like he'd explained well.

"Alright, well the sleeping I can certainly try and help with, but I wonder if I might suggest some further help with those old wounds?" the doctor suggested, starting to type away.

"I had counselling when I left the army," Danny replied. "That's all done. I just need to be able to sleep and not feel like this."

"There's no shame in admitting you need a little more help," he turned back to Danny. I'll give you the information and you can phone them if you wish. I suggest it would be a good idea for you. In the meantime I can give you some sleeping tablets, but I'd also like to try just a low dose of anxiety medication with your permission?"

"If you think it'll help."

#-#-#-#

He left the pharmacy and went back to the car but didn't move straight away. He wanted to go back to the hospital now, but he also knew if he went back without sleeping then Clara would probably tell him off. Danny pulled out his phone and looked down at the picture of them on his lockscreen, smiling at how happy she looked. The moment was interrupted when his phone started ringing - Dave.

"Finally," Danny said as he answered.

"What's happened? Where is she?" Dave replied. Danny couldn't be bothered to pull him up on not apologising.

"Intensive care. She is awake, well actually she was going to sleep when I left but she has come round. There's a small bleed on her brain so they need to watch her closely," he explained.

"How?! And why aren't you with her?!" Dave shouted down the phone.

"Because I spent 6 hours waiting for her to wake up and when she did she told me to sort myself out. She's resting now and they'll phone me if anything changes," he explained, again resisting making any comments about how she cared a lot more than he did.

"Well I'll go in now," Dave said and Danny quickly made up his decision about where he was going next.

"Alright, but it's really important she doesn't get overly upset or emotional so please please leave Linda behind," he practically begged.

"It'll just be me," Dave replied.

"Fine, tell her I will come back about 4," Danny finished and hung up. It just wasn't wise for them both to be there at the same time and he really did need the sleep.

#-#-#-#

Clara woke up again and immediately looked at the clock - she'd been asleep for another 5 hours. She hoped Danny would still be at home resting, but there was only one way to find out and she turned her head. What she found was not what she expected. "Dad…"

Dave looked up and then stood up, "hey love, how are you feeling?"

"Rough," she told him, "why are you here?"

"Because you're my daughter and you're ill, apparently really quite ill," he took her hand but Clara pulled hers back away. "Clara…"

"Thank you for coming, but please I don't want to see you right now, I'm not supposed to be stressing and I still can't cope with what happened," she explained, taking deep breaths to try and relax.

Dave remembered what Danny said and he knew he couldn't argue, "I'm sorry, I'll go. When you're better we will talk. Can you at least get Danny to keep me informed?"

"Sure, I'll get him to call you," Clara told him and shut her eyes, just listening for him to leave.

When she woke up again Danny was there and the clock read 5pm. Danny looked better, he had showered and definitely slept. "How did it go?"

He looked up from the book he was reading and smiled, "good actually, I've got some medication to help me sleep for a while and I need to go back in a month. How are you doing?"

"Dad came, I sent him away but said you'd keep him informed. The pain has gone down, the painkillers are good," she told him."Are you still blaming yourself?" Danny didn't reply. "Stop. Please."

He pulled the chair closer and sat down, "it's difficult. Seeing you like this was always going to be difficult but when I put you in here too - and you can't deny I didn't."

"No, but we both messed up. You're here now and that's all that matters. I just won't think about the fact that Henry is currently running my department…" she groaned.

"He looked absolutely terrified at the prospect," Danny chuckled.

"You went in?" Clara asked.

"It seemed easier. Everything is sorted though so you don't need to panic, just focus on yourself," he smiled and kissed her hand.

"I love you," she smiled. "Tell me something," she told him.

"What sort of something?" Danny asked.

"I don't know, I just want to listen to you," she replied.

Danny thought for a moment and sat back, keeping hold of her hand. "When I was in Afghan I thought about you everyday. It kept me going, wondering what you might be up to and hoping you'd moved on. I'd write letters but never send them and ask questions I thought I'd never know the answer to. I imagined how you might change your hair, whether you'd dye it or not. I always told you I liked it natural. To some it might sound creepy but it was just how I kept going. I never expected I'd see you again, but you were the bit of home I could really cling to. One day we were under fire and things were looking really bad. I remembered what you said to me when I found out where I was going - 'whatever happens I want you to know that I'll always be there, because when we're together'-"

"We are stronger than anyone can imagine. Even if we never speak again, remember this feeling because it will keep you going in your darkest moments." Clara finished off, not opening her eyes.

"You remember," Danny smiled.

"Like I'd forget. I thought about that night a lot after you were gone." Clara sighed, "I can't believe I ever thought I could get through life without you."

"You nearly didn't get through it with me," Danny pointed out, but Clara picked up the slight cheeky hint in his voice.

"If I wasn't practically tied to the wall I would hit you now," she told him.

"Oh I know, I wouldn't have said it if you'd have been mobile," Danny chuckled.

#-#-#-#

Clara woke up after her second night in the hospital. Danny had gone back to work today, he couldn't be off forever especially now he was sleeping better. They informed her he had been in before he went but she was still asleep at the time. She'd slept a lot in the last 2 days, but apparently that was normal even if it did frustrate her.

"Good morning," Claire had obviously just started her shift when she walked in and started assessing Clara's observations. "Scan time today I'm told?"

"Mmm that's the theory," she replied, "see if I've still got a brain."

"I guess we will find out shortly," Claire smiled, checking Clara's temperature. "You're doing well, how's the pain this morning?"

"Maybe 6?" she suggested.

"Still quite high, I'm surprised you're coping so well," Claire told her.

"I'm not, I'm just very good at pretending," Clara replied and shut her eyes again. "It's a bit of a habit."

"Well you know we do prefer you not to pretend when you're here - it's a lot easier if we know how you're feeling." Clara didn't reply, she knew Claire was right but she wasn't going to admit it. "There is one thing we need to make clear, how exactly did this happen?"

Somehow she knew they were going to ask that and she knew she had to be careful about how she answered this. "Danny had some bad news, I mean really bad. It's not my place to tell you what, but I think that led to some bad dreams. I tried to calm him down and he lashed out in his sleep which caught me and I kinda got launched into the bedside cabinet. That's why he feels so bad. He's been to the GP now though, he's getting help."

"Does he frequently do this?" Claire asked.

Clara was angry, "no, he doesn't. Don't even bloody go there because this wasn't Danny's fault. Sometime it really is just an accident. Spare me the lecture please," she finished and looked away, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm down.

"I'm sorry, it's something I have to ask," Claire replied. "I'll leave you be for now."

It was a long day. The staff came in and out to do what they had to do but after the run in with Claire she wasn't very talkative with them. When the time came for her scan she was grateful to be able to finally leave the room. They took her down on the bed but she kept her eyes shut most of the way. Infact before she knew it she was back in the far too familiar 4 walls of the ITU room.

"Hey you," Clara opened her eyes and smiled when she sat Danny was sat in the chair waiting for her.

"You look good today," she replied as they parked up the bed. "I just went on a very exciting trip."

"So I hear, when will they know the results?" Danny asked.

"Soon they said, that's all I know. How was work?" she really needed to talk about anything but her health situation right now.

"I spent all day answering questions about you basically. I had a free last though so I was told to get out early, hence my being here now," he told her. "To be honest it wasn't much fun being there today I-"

"Clara!" Danny was interrupted and they both looked up to see Grace stood at the door. "What the hell is going on?"

"Oh gosh Grace we should've called you, I'm sorry. I'm okay honestly, well actually we'll find out soon but i think I am," Clara told her.

Claire walked in behind Grace, "pain score?"

Clara glared at her, she was doing it on purpose, "a little less than earlier. Painkillers are working."

"Good, but stop playing it down," she told her and disappeared again.

"Clara?" Danny questioned when Claire was gone. "I thought the pain was gone."

Clara shrugged, "it's just… well, I hit my head hard. It's not gonna go in an instant, but it will. I just didn't want you to worry that's all."

"Some things never change," Grace moved closer to the bed. "What happened?"

"It was a stupid accident. I hit my head kinda hard and apparently it's fragile so here I am. Is everything okay with you?"

"Fine, really good, just worried about you! I took Elizabeth into work this afternoon and kept getting asked how you were doing - bit of a shock. Glad you're getting there though," she smiled.

"I'm sorry you found out like that," she sighed. "Apparently my head isn't working too well at the moment."

The door opened again and this time it was the doctor that walked in. All 3 of them looked at him expectantly. "We've had your scan back and it looks like the bleeding has stopped. You don't seem to have had any significant effects from it either so we're going to move you to the ward for another couple of days before you go home just to make sure everything stays stable."

"Great, thank you," Clara replied and the doctor nodded before leaving.

#-#-#-#

2 days later and she was finally able to return home. It was Friday and Danny came to pick her up after work. When he arrived she was already sat up and dressed, "I thought you were never going to arrive."

"Sorry, I got caught up with a student," he replied. "You ready to go?"

"More than, this place is driving me crazy," she complained and stood up.

"Not so fast," Clara's doctor walked in, "you can go in a moment, I just need a word with Danny."

"Ergh," she sat back down and waited.

The doctor turned his attention to Danny who glanced between him and Clara. "We are still letting her go home, but this afternoon there's been a bit of a change in her mood. We suspect it's just part of the recovery but you'll need to keep an eye just to make sure things don't get any worse. If you're at all concerned then don't hesitate to bring her back and give them my name in A&E. We went through everything else last night, are you still clear on that?"

"Yes, thank you. Thank you for everything," he smiled and shook the doctor's hand.

"Take care Clara," he told her and left. Danny turned back to her and put a hand out which Clara took.

"Alright then hometime my love."

When they arrived back Danny unlocked the door and let Clara in. "I'll make tea, you have a seat and find something good on the TV."

"I'm not an invalid, I can put the kettle on," she replied.

Danny sighed, she'd been snappy all the way home, "okay, you make tea. I'm just going to change." He disappeared upstairs and left her to it. When he did get up he grabbed his phone and called Grace.

"Hey, is she home?" Grace asked.

"Yeah she is, um, her mood is a bit all over the place tonight so I was wondering if we could postpone 24 hours so I can get a better feel for it. I'm just not sure it's wise with Elizabeth," he explained. Grace was supposed to be coming round tonight.

"Yes absolutely, not a problem at all. Send her my love and I'll maybe see you both tomorrow." Danny agreed and hung up, putting his phone away and quickly changing out of his shirt to go back down.

Clara was sat at the breakfast bar and pushed his mug over when he walked in. She saw sat with her head in her hands now and Danny sat down opposite her, reaching out and put one of his hands over hers. "What's going on in there?" he asked softly.

"I don't know," she sighed, "it's like I keep losing control of myself." Clara sat up but kept hold of Danny's hand. "I'm sorry I keep snapping."

"Hey it's not your fault, they said from the start it could happen because of where the bleed 're doing so well, we'll get you there," he smiled and kissed her hand gently.

"I just want to be myself again," she replied, tears starting to escape. Definitely mood swings then.

Danny stood up and walked around the edge of the table to join her and pulled her close. "I love you so much, you've been doing so well. And at least timing means I'll be off with you next week."

"I still can't believe I have to be off work for 6 weeks, it's going to be chaos when I get back," she sighed.

"Hey, you're not to worry about that for the next 6 weeks, you just focus on getting back to yourself."

"I'm just glad I've got you," Clara held him close and tried to relax, it was going to be a long recovery.


	18. Chapter 18

**If anyone watches Casualty - I planned this before I saw last week's episode and the coincidence is a little creepy.**

A week down the line and she was still struggling. Danny was back to work today and not at all happy about leaving her home alone but he didn't have much choice. "Maybe I should phone your Dad?"

"No!" Clara snapped back at him as she made breakfast having refused to let him do it. "Danny I'll be fine for goodness sake chill out!"

Danny sighed, "fine. But any problems-"

"There won't be, go to work and stop worrying!" she told him and turned around to get the milk from the fridge.

Danny stood up and held his hands up in defeat. "See you later."

He left, but he was early and he had a plan. On the way to work he stopped off at Grace and James' place, knocking gently. He knew she would be up - apparently Elizabeth religiously woke up at 6 every morning when James got up for work. Grace answered the door and her smile quickly turned to concern when she realised Danny was here alone. "Come in, it's freezing outside," she moved and he went in.

"I can't stop - work beckons. I just need a favour. Clara is… well, she is in an awful mood. The mood swings are still a little all over the place and I'm really worried about her being home alone all day. I suggested I call her Dad but that was, unsurprisingly, a definite no. I know you have Elizabeth and taking her round wouldn't be wise but if you could just try and call her maybe-"

"Danny you look terrified," Grace smiled sympathetically. "I'll call my Mum, she will be more than happy to watch Lizzie for a while. I'll go and see her. Don't worry, I've dealt with angry Clara once or twice before."

"Thank you so much," he looked a little relieved. "Call me if there are any problems."

"No problem, you should get going," she smiled and saw him out.

And hour or so later once her Mum had arrived and Elizabeth was fed Grace made her way over to see Clara. She knocked on the door once and got no answer so she tried again. There was movement, she could tell Clara was there so she tried one last time.

"Alright I'm coming geez," came the shout from inside and the door finally opened. "You're missing something."

"Well observed, my Mum came over spontaneously and offered to watch her so I thought I'd come and say hi. Is Danny back at work today?"

"You know full well he is. He asked you to come didn't he?" she asked, but it wasn't really a question. "He turned the wrong way out of the drive this morning."

"Okay so yes he came over, but he didn't ask me to come that was my idea. Now are you going to let me freeze out here or what?" Grace asked and Clara just shrugged and went back inside, leaving the door open for her. Grace stepped inside and shut the door, shrugging her coat off and hanging it up. "He is really worried about you."

"I know, he needs to relax," Clara replied and put the kettle on. "How're you?"

"Sleep deprived but never better, but we aren't here to talk about me. You've been crying," Grace pointed out.

"What are you a mind reader now?" Clara rolled her eyes and poured out the tea.

"Nope, just known you long enough to recognise the signs. Like you never wear makeup in the house unless you've already been out which means you're hiding something from Danny. Talk to me Clara, what's going on?" Grace asked. Clara put the kettle down and went to get the milk. She picked it up but immediately dropped it, milk going everywhere.

Her language was far from appropriate as she kicked out at the cupboard door next to her. Grace jumped up and ran over, grabbing Clara as she went to fall to the floor. "I can't do this anymore!"

"You've been covering up the effects of this to protect him…" Grace suddenly realised what was going on. "The milk just then?"

"I couldn't grip it," Clara replied and immediately turned and cried into her friend. "I can't control the mood swings, I can't control my own damn arm sometimes, but Danny already blames himself and I can't tell him. He's still trying to get over losing 3 of his friends, he's on medication and getting help but it's not been that long."

Grace rubbed her back gently, "you can't ignore it Clara. I know you want to, I understand why, but you can't ignore it." Clara nodded. "I'm taking you to the hospital. We don't have to tell Danny just yet and that way if they say everything is okay then you can tell him so alright? But if they say anything else we have to call him."

"He'll hate me for lying," Clara mumbled, tiredness beginning to take over now - being angry was shockingly draining she was beginning to discover.

"I'm not sure Danny could ever hate you. Now go and clean yourself up and I'll sort this mess out," Grace smiled and helped her up. Clara dodged the ever expanding puddle of milk and made her way upstairs.

Once she was ready Grace drove her down to the hospital. When they arrived she sat her down in the waiting room and went up to reception on her behalf, explaining the situation and giving the doctor's name over as requested. The receptionist seemed to understand and told Grace to leave it with her so she did, going back over. "Everything will be okay Clara, you'll be back to yourself before you know it."

"It was one stupid little knock to the head Grace, how is this fair?" she sighed.

"I know, you don't deserve this love," Grace told her.

"I wasn't talking about me." Grace looked down at Clara's phone when she finished speaking and saw what she was looking at. Danny had text asking how she was - it was only half 9. Grace took the phone from her and locked it, putting it in her bag.

"He won't be surprised if you don't reply. I'm sure I'll get a message shortly but I won't tell him where we are," she replied.

They had only been sat there 10 minutes when Clara's consultant came into the waiting room and called her through. Grace made sure she got up okay and walked along with him. "Are you a relative?" he asked Grace as they went into a room.

"No, best friend," Grace replied.

"She's fine," Clara told him. "I didn't expect you to come down."

"For my favourite patient? I've never moved so fast," he smiled and sat down once they had. Clara didn't smile. "Mood still rough then?"

Clara looked at Grace who nodded and started to speak for her. "The mood swings are really affecting her, but I think we are more concerned about the loss of sensation in her arm."

"I see. Can I have a look?" he asked Clara who nodded and slipped her jacket off. He examined her arm, testing her reflexes carefully. "Alright, I think we need to get another CT to check. I'll get it sorted quickly for you."

The doctor left the room and Clara kept staring at her hands. "Hey you'll be alright," Grace took her good hand and squeezed it gently.

"Still not me I'm worried about," she sighed.

"One step at a time remember," Grace reminded her. "Let's see what the scan shows."

#-#-#-#

After the scan she was returned to the same room in A&E and Grace was sat there waiting. She took her hand again and squeezed it. The doctor had reappeared not too long after and came in, shutting the door behind him. "Right I've reviewed the scan. I am happy that there is no active bleeding which is reassuring, but I'm concerned about the loss of sensation in your arm so I want to do a test to check for any blood clots that could have travelled down. It seems unlikely but it's possible and if I'm right then it will need dealing with." Clara nodded, not replying. "I'll go and sort that now, won't be long."

Grace was about to speak when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and when she pulled it out she wasn't hugely surprised to see Danny's name on the screen. Briefly she considered telling Clara, but now wasn't the time. "I just need to get this," Grace told her and left quickly, jogging out to answer the phone where he wouldn't guess their location. "Hi, everything okay at work?"

"Yes, but Clara's not answering my calls, is she okay?" he asked - quickly changing the conversation.

"Yeah, sorry that's my bad I stole her phone to shut her up. She's not incredible, but I'm working on it. The biggest thing is that she doesn't want you to worry so I didn't tell her it was you on the phone," Grace explained.

"Oh Clara…" he sighed, "alright. Don't tell her I called, it won't help anything. Are you alright being there?"

"Absolutely, my Mum is having the time of her life with Liz don't you worry. Just so you know there's a chance we may be out when you get home, so don't panic," she was trying her best not to actually lie to him.

"Alright, thanks. Just-"

"I will let you know anything you need to know, now go and tell some more kids how to add numbers together and I'll see you later" she told him.

They said their goodbyes and she hung up, breathing a sigh of relief that she'd got through that conversation and then went back inside. When she arrived they were doing the tests on her and Grace had to wait outside. It took a few moments before she was asked to go back inside. "Alright," the doctor began. "I was right, there is a blood clot in your arm. We are going to need to get that taken out which does mean just a small operation so I am going to need to readmit you."

Clara shook her head, "no, I can't."

"Clara it's really important we do this before your arm loses all its blood supply," the doctor explained.

"No you don't understand, I can't stay in I need to be home. I can't put Danny through anymore of this!" she started shouting and Grace stood up to go to her. "No, this is your fault!" Clara shouted at her, "and next time you want to secretly talk to my partner on the phone don't look so damn guilty. Not falling for that one again," she seethed and stormed out of the room.

Grace sighed - she should've seen that one coming. "I'll go after her," she told the doctor.

"She really does need this operation," he told her.

"I know, I'll get her there," Grace replied.

"I'll sort out the admission, it'll be the same ward she was on previously," he explained.

Grace left and ran off outside, but she couldn't find Clara anywhere. "Bloody hell you move fast when you want to Clara." She'd been looking for about 10 minutes when she knew she needed help. "Oh you're gonna hate me for this."

It didn't take long for Danny to answer the phone, "everything okay?"

"Yes. No. Well, I need it to be. Danny I didn't tell you the whole truth earlier, we are at the hospital. Clara's also not been telling the whole truth - she's been losing some of the sensation in her left arm-"

"What?!" he quickly interrupted.

"Let me finish. I bought her down and they've checked her out and there's a clot that's travelled to her arm. It could have been a lot worse, it didn't stay in the brain, but the arm is only going to get worse so she needs a small operation to take it out. The biggest problem is that she's disappeared…" Grace finished.

"Disappeared where?" Danny asked, trying to take all this in.

"If I knew that we wouldn't have the problem, I was hoping you might have an idea of where she would go. She refused to have it done because of you, she doesn't want you to worry Danny," Grace was still walking around in the hope she might magically appear but in reality she was long gone. Clara was too clever for any of them sometimes.

"If she's trying to hide from me she's not going to go anywhere obvious," Danny spoke as he collected his things together, grateful that he was at least not with a class. "There are years of her life I know very little about. Wherever she is, it'll be something to do with that and as much as it pains me to say it I think there is only one person who can answer this question now."

"James…" Grace realised where he was going, "alright. I'll call him. If you can think of anywhere else then start looking and I'll call you back when I've spoken to James."

"Thank you," Danny told her and hung up.

Grace immediately phoned James, not caring what time it was and whether he might be in a meeting. It took a few rings for him to pick up. "Is everything okay with Liz? With you?!" James sounded very panicked.

"Yes. Liz is with my Mum. James this isn't about me, this is about Clara. She's disappeared and she's scared but more importantly we think she'd trying to avoid Danny and myself which means she's going to go somewhere we don't know about. I was hoping you might have an idea. She's ill James, we need to find her," Grace was still wandering around looking for any clues.

"I… think I might know, but I don't know if I should tell you," he replied, "let me go."

"James I really don't think-"

"She doesn't want to see you or Danny right? Maybe I'm exactly who needs to go. I'll keep you updated," he told Grace. "Call Danny again, get him to the hospital. I will see you later."

James hung up and grabbed his keys, telling his assistant he wouldn't be back today and left. He ran to his car and immediately drove towards where he wanted to be. He jumped out of the car when he arrived at his destination and jogged up the hill, ignoring the fact he hadn't done this in quite a while. When he got to the top he wasn't surprised to find Clara there. "Oh you're good," he managed to get out while he took deep breaths.

"You're not, you need to sit down," Clara replied, not looking around. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Grace called. She's worried about you, so is Danny and whether you believe it or not, so am I," James walked towards her. "It made sense you would go here. Not far from the hospital but also somewhere nobody else knows about."

"First place you bought me, I loved the view," she told him. "Don't know what my thing is with secret hills, I seem to attract them."

"It's freezing up here Clara, we need to get you back to the hospital," he told her.

"I can't put Danny through anymore," she replied.

"If you don't then you will only get worse Clara. You need to go back." James slipped his jacket off and put it over her shoulders. "I've got my car, Grace and Danny are waiting for you."

"Why do you even care?" she asked, tutting.

"I never stopped caring, but this isn't about us. Clara please just come with me," he crouched down beside her. "You always have been stubborn haven't you?" Clara rolled her eyes. "Exactly my point. You're not well, forget anyone else

"Fine, if it'll shut you up I'll come," she groaned and went to stand up, but her arm gave out on her when she pushed down on it. James quickly grabbed her and helped her up to her feet. "I'm fine, let's go."

#-#-#-#

Clara didn't take his jacket off, she was freezing although she wouldn't admit it. James took her inside and the moment she entered the reception Danny ran up to her, but Clara jumped back a little. James put a hand out to stop Danny and looked to Grace to take over from him which she did, putting an arm around Clara and guiding her back to the room she'd been in. "What right do you have to stop me seeing her?" Danny was quick to argue once Clara was gone.

"None at all, but I'm doing it for both of you. Clara is going into self destruct because she's so worried about you and we all need to work together to sort that out. Go in there and be supportive but don't crowd her. Clara needs to know that she's in control which I know you know, and now is an important time to remember that. Go to her, she needs you even if she won't say it."

James was right and Danny knew it. He nodded, thanking him quietly before walking off in the direction that Grace had gone in. It didn't take long to find the right room as Grace was stood outside. "Kicked you out huh?" Danny asked.

"Yup, but at least she's back. I'll go speak to James, you try. They're nearly ready to take her upstairs." she placed a hand on his arm reassuringly before going.

Danny opened the door slowly and walked in. Clara was lying on the bed staring at her arm and didn't move at all as he shut the door and made his way over, sitting in the chair beside her. "I'm sorry, I made you feel like you had to protect me in all this. You don't, I'm doing okay and you've suffered in all this. You should never have had to hide things from me. I'm sorry."

"Me too. I should have told you," Clara turned on her side to face him. "We're a right pair aren't we?"

"We are a bit," he took her hand. "I love you and this is all about us. We're gonna get you sorted and get me sorted and then we can focus on the future."

"I like that, I like the future - present isn't really doing it for me," she chuckled and pulled on his hand for him to come and sit on the bed with her. "I'm sorry for everything I said."

"I know you didn't mean it," he kissed her head, "shall I tell them you're ready?"

"Yes, please," Clara told him. She could do this now.

#-#-#-#

She came round from the anaesthetic and saw Danny stood at the end of the bed talking to the doctor. "...it all looks clear, so we can be fairly sure there are no more clots and- oh, you're awake. Welcome back Clara," the consultant smiled at her. "The operation went well, the scar should be very small you just need to be careful with that arm for a few days. I was just explaining to your fiancé that we have also checked there are no more clots and we are happy you're clear. I'm off to study your CT scan a little closer now we've dealt with the main problem just to check for small things as Danny says your moods are still a little variable."

"Yeah, thanks. Although I do feel a little calmer now, I think I wasn't letting things go and, well, it's done now. Hopefully things will be better from here," Clara told him. "Thank you for everything."

"Not a problem, you've provided a challenge," he smiled and left.

Clara lay back and Danny came over to her. "You look better," he told her, stroking her cheek gently. "More colour in there."

She raised her hand to his and smiled, "thanks. I feel better, if a little high thanks to the painkillers."

"I'll take it," Danny shrugged and chuckled. "Grace and James went home but I've kept them updated."

"Oh god James, can't believe he had to get involved," Clara sounded embarrassed as she spoke. "I'm sorry."

"Nah he found you and he put some sense into me too so we can't complain. Just you and me now though love, I'm going nowhere."

"Good, because I'm not letting you," she smiled and kissed him gently. "Until it gets late, then you'll have to go home and get some sleep. And you should go to work tomorrow too, I'll be alright."

Danny nodded, "alright. Done deal. Although on one condition…"

"What's that?" Clara asked.

"I get to properly look after you when you come home. Not because I'm worried but because I care for you, I love you and because the doctor said I have to." Danny smiled and stroked a stray strand of hair back from her face.

Clara nodded, "maybe I can let go for a few days."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Danny chuckled and Clara hit him lightly. "You gotta admit it'd be a first."

"Mmm alright no need to keep pointing out my flaws. I got plenty already," she smiled.

"Ah you're pretty flawless in my eyes," he replied.

"Flattery will get you everywhere Mr Pink, but only when I'm not shattered. Can you call Dad and update him? I did promise. I just need to sleep for a while," she told him. Danny nodded and stood up although Clara kept hold of his hand for a moment before letting go as she dropped off to sleep.

He went out and made the call as requested as well as updating Grace before he found the coffee shop again to top up his caffeine levels. Spending a moment in the fresh air was good to clear his head, there had been so much going on it was hard to compartmentalize. He'd had the funeral details through for his friends. They weren't for a couple of weeks but he still needed to speak to Clara about it at some point, and maybe accept it himself too.

Danny finished up his coffee and put the cup in the bin before going back inside, glad he had taken the time out. When he arrived back Clara was still asleep so he sat in the chair by the bed and watched her quietly. She looked peaceful, he wondered if she was dreaming and what about, he hoped it was a good dream. He looked up as the nurse came in, smiling at her. "She's looking better, more colour," the nurse commented as she went to check the observations.

"Yeah, more like herself. Something still doesn't feel right though…" he commented. He'd been trying to piece it together while he was sat there but he couldn't get it.

"In what way?" the nurse asked. "All her obs seem fine."

"I don't know. Sorry it probably sounds weird but I just know something isn't right," Danny shrugged.

"I've done this job for a long time and the one thing I've learnt is that relatives are a good indicator of a patient's well being. We'll keep an eye on her and if anything changes while I'm out just press the call button or - of course - you can always shout," she smiled at him and then left the room.

Danny sat back again but no sooner had he done so her eyes opened a little, "she gone?" Clara asked.

"You were already awake," Danny realised. "Cheeky so and so."

"You're right too, something isn't quite right but I don't know what it is," she turned to him and reached a hand out. "I'm scared."

"Don't be scared, I'm here," he took her hand and kissed it gently. "Can you explain?"

"It's like… like I'm not quite here," Clara explained, "like this is all a dream except I know it's not?"

"Might just be the anaesthetic?" Danny questioned.

Maybe, but it should've got better and I-" Clara stopped talking suddenly and Danny looked closely, "-I don't know, it's weird."

"Clara why did you stop there…?" Danny asked.

"Stop where?" she asked. Clara didn't know.

"Nothing, ignore me. I'm just gonna nip out did you want a drink?" Clara shook her head, "okay I won't be long."

Danny left and quickly found the nurse, "something is wrong. She just woke up and we were talking and just mid sentence she just… stopped. Like she went blank, she wasn't looking at me just into space, just for a few seconds and then she carried on like nothing happened. That's a thing right? Absence seizures?"

"Yes that is a thing, but we won't jump to conclusions. Thank you for telling me, I'll get the doctor now. Go back to her, try not to panic her. We'll get this sorted."

Danny nodded and took a deep breath before going back towards the room. Why wouldn't this just end?


	19. Chapter 19

They discharged Clara after a couple of days observation, deciding that she'd be better off at home. Danny helped her out of the car and they went inside. She settled down on the sofa and put her feet up as instructed while Danny went and put the kettle on.

Once he'd made the tea he took the mugs through and sat down beside her, handing it over. "Killing you this isn't it? Having to sit here while I make the tea?" he chuckled.

Clara took the cup, smiling gratefully, "I promised."

"You did," he smiled. "Guess you'll have to put up with my cooking too?"

"Now that I can deal with," Clara winked and leant on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I've been such a jerk," she sighed.

"It wasn't your fault, just like you keep saying it isn't mine. It's what has happened and we can move on now," Danny smiled and kissed her head. "Speaking of which, I've been told I can have as much time off as needed to help you get better. They've found a supply that can stick around and everyone wants you back asap."

Clara smiled up at him, "I couldn't ask for a better person to help me. But you let me help you too yes? How's it all going?"

"It's good, really good. I did get an email the other day about the funerals," he told her. Clara looked a little concerned, "it's okay. I went and spoke to the counsellor about it and kinda talked it through. They're in 3 weeks. I'll only go if you're okay but-"

"Shut up, you're going. We're going, I'll be there for you. 3 weeks is a good place to aim for, let's focus on that - you know how much I like a deadline," she grinned.

"Very true. Alright then you, 3 weeks it is."

"Good, now seeing as you're looking after me can you put the TV on?"

"Oh you are so gonna make the most of this Clara Oswald," he rolled his eyes.

"If you can't beat them…" she chuckled.

#-#-#-#

3 weeks seemed possible at the time, but they were a week in and Clara felt like she was getting nowhere. She was aware of the seizures now. Not when she was having them, but she could sense Danny's reaction when she did. They were around 1 a day, it could've been worse, but the medication certainly hadn't kicked in yet. She'd woken up early that morning around half 4 and unable to get back to sleep, Clara had snuck out from the bedroom and gone downstairs, sitting at her laptop and logging into her emails for the first time in ages.

It could've been worse. Most of them were from Henry either updating her or with panicked queries which were generally followed up with a 'never mind I sorted it' email. She went through, replying to a few if she could still be of some help. He'd sent her some lesson plans too, Clara sighed. Granted he probably didn't know what else to do, but she simply didn't have the concentration to go through them. She forwarded them to Grace with an apology, it wasn't really fair to ask her to do it. She replied surprisingly quickly to say it wouldn't be a problem before questioning why Clara was emailing her at 5am.

 _Could ask you the same question?_ Clara replied.

 _I have a small child who is reluctant to sleep, you do not._ She had a point. Clara went to reply to the email when she noticed her phone vibrate beside her - she answered it. "So why are you awake then?" Grace asked.

"Just couldn't get back to sleep and I'd been putting off logging into my emails," Clara replied.

"You're off sick, you don't actually have to look at your emails," Grace pointed out.

"Evidently the rest of the school doesn't agree. Or they just knew I would look anyway…" she chuckled softly. "How's Elizabeth?"

"Slowly dropping off again. Misses her best auntie though, maybe I should bring her over to visit?" Grace suggested. The simple idea made Clara smile.

"That sounds perfect. Come whenever you want, I'm not exactly getting out much." Clara replied.

Grace sounded surprised at this, "how come?"

"Well it's just… difficult. I get nervous being out now. Incase I… well, you know. If I blank out at the wrong moment - crossing the road or something. I can't risk it," she explained.

"Have you told Danny?" Grace checked.

"Yes, we're being very open now. He knows, he's trying to persuade me to go out but I just… can't…" she sighed. Clara shut the lid of her laptop and put it to one side. "I feel like I'm letting him down."

"Oh don't be silly of course you're not. Listen, why don't I bring Elizabeth round this afternoon. Maybe we can go to the park near you and feed the ducks? Can just be you, me and Liz if you want, if you're worried about Danny. I'll look after you love, and there is only one road to cross which has a crossing on it anyway." She had a good memory, they'd only been once.

Clara took a deep breath, "okay. Yeah okay. I think I can do that."

"Good. Now go back to bed, just lie there if you can't sleep but rest," Grace spoke sternly but kindly.

"Yes Mum," Clara replied and there was a small chuckle from the end of the phone. "See you later," she added and then hung up.

As instructed she made her way back up. Danny was still asleep so she climbed back in and rested back against him. In his sleep he automatically put an arm around her so Clara shut her eyes and, much to her surprise, fell asleep almost immediately.

Waking up was a bit of a shock and she sat up almost as a reflex. Danny looked up at her, "what happened?"

"Nothing. Just wasn't expecting to wake up, didn't realise I'd got back to sleep. Sorry, did I wake you?" she lay back down.

"No, I was just watching you," he smiled.

"Creep," Clara replied, a small grin on her face.

Danny chuckled and kissed her head. "Morning anyway, did you wake in the night then?"

"Mmm I got up about half 4 I guess. Ended up on the phone to Grace - she was up with Elizabeth - she sent me back to bed," Clara smiled at the memory.

"Remind me to text her and thank her," Danny replied.

"You can thank her in person, she's coming over this afternoon," she mumbled in her slightly sleepy state.

"That's good, it'll be nice to see Elizabeth I bet she will have grown a lot!"

Clara nodded, taking his hand and playing with his fingers. "I really love you," she told him.

"You'd better do, otherwise we've got a sticky situation here," he pointed out and twisted the engagement ring round on her finger. Clara chuckled softly and nodded again. "Sorry, were you going somewhere with that?"

"If I was I've forgotten. You're very distracting," she replied and looked up. "We should move. Grace will be over soon."

"What if I don't want to?" he replied, returning his grip round her. "Maybe I want to stay here."

"Maybe you do, but I'm starving and you don't really want Grace to see you like this do you?" Clara chuckled. "I'm gonna go shower, you coming?" she managed to get out of his grasp, only keeping hold of his hand and pulling gently on it as she went in the direction of the bathroom.

"You might be able to persuade me…" he winked and finally gave into her pull, following her through.

#-#-#-#

Clara was absolutely soaked when the doorbell went. Somehow she and Danny had ended up having a mini water fight in the kitchen, but she had definitely come out of it the wetter of the two or them. She ran out of the room to the door being careful to avoid wet patches on the floor and opened the door. "Hi, come in," she greeted Grace and moved out of the way do she could get the pram in.

"Um hi… dare I ask?" she pointed a little at her state once the pram was through and the door shut.

"Oh. No, no you probably shouldn't. And you definitely don't want to go in the kitchen. Living room?" she opened the door. Grace lifted the travel chair from the pram frame and took a currently sleeping Elizabeth through in it. She placed carefully on the floor and sat on the sofa.

"She fell asleep on the way here, best leave her a while before we go out. So you're looking happier today? That sleep helped?"

"So much, thank you. Can I get you-" Clara started but they were interrupted by Danny walking in with a teapot and two mugs on a tray completed with a plate of biscuits.

"Your tea Madame?" Danny placed it down on a table between the two women and winked at Clara. "I'll be upstairs, got a couple of bits to sort." Clara nodded and thanked him, letting him go.

"He's got absolutely nothing to sort out, cleared up his work yesterday," Clara rolled her eyes as he left the room. "Subtle as a brick that man."

"You just know each other far too well. It's cute though, that much I can't deny. It's nice to see you smiling," Grace smiled and started pouring the tea.

"He has that effect. Don't know what I'd do without him to be honest," Clara told her before blushing and putting her head in her hands. "Sorry that is so cringy," she groaned.

Grace laughed at her reaction, "shut up it's lovely. Now take this mug before it burns my hand off!" Clara quickly sat up and took the mug, mouthing an apology.

They talked for a while. Grace got Clara up to date with Elizabeth and Clara informed Grace about the thrilling days she was having at home (interrupted by the odd hospital check up). "The amount of tablets I'm taking is ridiculous, I feel about 70. Honestly it's-" she stopped, blanking. Grace looked at her for a moment.

"Clara?"

Almost within a second Danny had appeared, but as he came in Clara came round, "crazy. It's really crazy. You're looking at me funny…" Clara turned her head and saw Danny looking concerned at the door. "Oh…"

"Hey, relax it's fine. You're doing fine, deep breaths remember?" Danny crouched down beside the sofa and took her hand. "They're lessening, it's going in the right direction."

Clara nodded, taking deep breaths as he suggested. "I'm sorry," she replied. "I'm okay, I am."

"Don't be apologising, it's fine. Sorry if we panicked you," Danny kissed her hand gently. "You need anything?"

"No, I'm good," she smiled weakly. The next moment of silence was broken by Elizabeth who had just woken and was clearly craving the attention. Clara looked over to her and smiled a little more. "Someone's jealous that I'm taking Mummy's attention."

Grace chuckled and went over to pick her up, "I think it might be the other way round actually," she replied and then spoke to Elizabeth, "you want to see Auntie Clara don't you hey?" she jiggled her gently to settle her down as she walked back over to the sofa. "Here we go."

Clara was a little reluctant, but Danny squeezed her hand before he let go to allow her to take the baby. "You won't drop her" Danny whispered as he stood up, only audible to himself and Clara who couldn't help but smile at how well he knew her. Clara looked down at Elizabeth in her arms, suddenly a lot more content. She rubbed her cheek a little with her thumb and smiled, making a few silly faces.

"Hello you, I've missed you. Aren't you growing fast now?" Clara commented. "You're just like your Mummy, that's a very good thing. You can be anything you want to be because you already have her determination."

Grace chuckled softly and moved to sit next to Clara, looking down at Elizabeth. "It suits you Clara."

"What does?" Clara looked up at her a little confused.

"Holding a baby," she smiled. "Won't be long, you're a natural."

Clara looked up at Grace then down at Elizabeth, repeating the movement a couple of times before handing the baby back to her mother and standing up. "I can't," she replied before walking out of the room.

Grace stood up with Elizabeth and went to follow her but Danny stopped her. "I didn't think, I'm so sorry. Please, let me speak to her," she pleaded with him. Danny thought about it for a moment before stepping back out of her way. "Can you take Lizzie?" he nodded and Grace handed her over before running after Clara.

She had only gone to her room thankfully so it didn't take long to find her. She'd sat on the floor in the corner, knees to her chest. Grace knelt down on the floor in front of her,not getting too close. "I'm sorry, I didn't think before I spoke."

Clara shook her head but didn't look up, "it's not your fault, it's just a bit raw. You're right, I really want children but I'm too scared of that happening again."

"You know we will always support you, it's okay to be scared but the situation will be different. You and Danny will be the perfect parents. You don't have to rush - get married and settle, nobody is pushing you for anything. I mean the longer it takes the more I can take advantage of free babysitting right?" she grinned and Clara chuckled. "That's better. Now are you coming back down before my daughter screams your fiancé to deafness?" It was only then that Clara realised what the noise was. "I think she misses you."

Things got a little better after that, Grace and Liz did a good job of taking Clara's mind off things and eventually Grace suggested they go out for lunch in the park café. "This one's getting restless."

"Oi don't blame Elizabeth for your inability to sit still, I've known you a long time remember," Clara grinned. "Let me get sorted and we can go. 10 minutes? Just need to tell Danny what's going on." She stood up, handing Elizabeth back to her Mum and jogging upstairs going into the study where Danny was sat. "Hey, what you doing up here?"

"Working?" he replied. Clara raised her eyebrows and went round to see the screen, "okay, watching cat videos but in my defence they're really funny."

"Okay… anyway, I'm going to the park with Grace and Liz," she told him and he suddenly looked up, rather shocked at her words. "I know, I'm terrified, but I promised I would and I need to. I… I'd like you to stay here, if that's okay. I think I need to do this without you - partly to prove to myself that I can and partly because I'm scared of letting you down. Please don't argue that, it's just how I feel and I just need to do this so-" she was stopped when Danny kissed her. "What was that for?"

"To shut you up. It's fine, you go and enjoy yourself. You'll be okay I have every faith, and Grace will look after you too. Now go on, don't give yourself a chance to think out of it," he smiled and pushed her towards the door.

"Enjoy your cats!" she called back at him as she ran back downstairs. Grace gave her a slightly odd look, "don't ask. Honestly. Let's go," she smiled and grabbed her keys from the side, heading out of the door.

They made it down to the park in one piece, but it wasn't far. Clara pushed the pram and they just talked as they went, it was nice, felt more like it always had been. "I have definitely missed getting out like this. Not the same when it's just the two of us, bit early for a conversation just yet," Grace chuckled and looked over at Liz who was already asleep. "She really appreciates the fresh air as you can tell."

Clara chuckled, "must just be you, we had a fantastic conversation earlier actually. Turns out your daughter is a huge Jane Austen fan, we talked at length about the positive character aspects."

"Clearly she's out to impress you," Grace replied as they reached the café. She opened the door so Clara could get the pram in. They found a table and sat down. "So tell me, have the wedding plans started yet?"

Clara rolled her eyes and shook her head, "I honestly haven't even thought about it, too much going on. I really should though, we haven't even set a date."

"Summer or winter?"

"Autumn. September. Leaves on the ground, not freezing cold but enough to get to wear a long sleeved dress," she smiled.

"I thought you hadn't thought about it?" Grace chuckled.

"Well I've had a lot of time alone recently," Clara grinned and looked into the pram when Elizabeth started making noises. "Well hello there young lady," she reached over and picked her up. "Just in time to disturb our lunch aren't you? Good timing kiddo."

"This does not mean you're getting out of discussing the wedding," Grace grinned and stood up, "what you having then?" She went to get lunch leaving Clara with the baby.

"Your mummy has big plans for me it seems. You know when I get married we'll have to find you a really pretty dress, I'm sure you'll probably sleep through the whole thing but at least you'll look very cute while doing so. I owe you a lot little miss, you got my best friend back for me, made me see what was important in life," she smiled and kissed her head. When she tried to pull away a little hand grabbed her hair.

"Gotcha," Grace grinned and sat back down having ordered. "Forgot to warn you about the grabbing thing," she leaned over and managed to get Elizabeth's hand off Clara's hair. "So come on then, what else have you not thought about for this wedding?"

Clara rolled her eyes, "honestly that's it. The time of year is as far as I've got. And… maybe I found a dress…"

"Right, give me the child and show me the dress," Grace sat up and took Liz, jiggling her carefully as Clara grabbed her phone and went through to find the photo, sliding the phone over so she could see. "Oh my gosh Clara that is perfect… that is so you, you'll look incredible. Have you tried it on?"

"No, haven't exactly been getting out, but I managed to call the shop and I explained the situation and I may have reserved it till the end of the month…" Clara blushed a little.

"What?! Oh my god Clara how did you swing that one?" she asked.

"The manager of the shop knows my Dad and me, long story but yeah she trusts me to my word. If I don't go in before the end of the month then she'll just cancel it," Clara shrugged and took her phone back.

Grace sat back and looked down at Elizabeth, "well guess where we are going after lunch. Wanna see Auntie Clara looking even more stunning than usual?"

Clara looked at her, shaking her head. "I can't. Grace this is hard enough I'm so scared…"

"You're doing great Clara, and you need this dress. It's the perfect opportunity, I'll be with you every step and they know you've not been well right so they'll understand if you need to sit down or step out. Come on, Elizabeth is impatient and needs to see this today!"

"What have I told you about using your daughter?" Clara chuckled.

"Ah no I'm just very tuned into her, I know it's what she's thinking," Grace nodded sincerely.

"Grace she is staring at the balloon on the next table, not sure she's that bothered," she pointed out but smiled. "Okay, okay let's do it. I'll only keep putting it off. We'll eat and then we can walk over - it's only 10 minutes from here." Even as she spoke she felt herself shaking at the very thought of being so exposed, but Grace was right and she would do this today.

Clara stopped outside the shop, taking a deep breath. "Sorry, this is just a big thing and I haven't had much time to prepare."

"Then keep not preparing, just go in," Grace suggested and Clara smiled, nodded and opened the door, holding it for her to bring the pram in.

The door shut behind them with a small bell ringing and within a moment the shop owner came out. "Clara! Was beginning to wonder if you were going to turn up, I'm so glad you're here," the woman greeted her. "How are things? You recovering well?"

"Yeah doing okay thank you, how are you? Long time no see and all that," Clara stepped back from the brief interaction.

"Fabulous thanks. How's your Dad? Haven't heard from him in a long time since he found his new woman?" she asked.

"You and me both," Clara mumbled, "he's fine."

"Ah, clearly a sore subject we will gloss over. Who's with you today?" she asked.

Clara realised she hadn't actually introduced them, "sorry, complete failure on my part. Georgie this is Grace, my best friend. Grace this is Georgie, shop owner and all round life saver - she looked after Dad and I after Mum died and we moved next door."

"Well then this is an honour," Grace smiled, "lovely to meet you."

"And you! I've heard a lot about you over the last few years. So you know James well then?" Clara nearly choked on the sip of water she'd just taken from her bottle. Grace immediately looked at Clara partly concerned and partly a little unsure where to go next on that conversation and not really wanting to reply.

"You could say that…" Clara managed to get out after a small coughing fit. "No that's something else I need to tell you, it's not actually James I'm marrying." Georgie's eyes widened. "We are long overdue a catch up. But you do know him."

"I'm confused who… wait… you're not telling me you and Danny are finally back together?!" Georgie looked incredibly excited at this prospect.

"What do you mean finally?" Clara replied, a little confused by her reaction.

"It was pretty much inevitable. You two were inseparable until he went in the army and I just had a feeling it wouldn't be over forever. To be honest I was surprised at how far things got with James. Anyway, this is fantastic news! You want to try the dress on then?" Georgie asked and Clara smiled, nodding. "Excellent, I'll go and get it. Feel free to take a seat,"

Grace followed Clara to sit down when Georgie had gone. "Well that was a little awkward," she commented.

"Sorry, I should've filled her in really shouldn't I? You okay?" Clara asked.

"Oh shush I'm fine, it was you I was worried about. If it's gonna be awkward for me to be involved in all this…"

"Shut up Grace why wouldn't I want you involved? You are the only person who will tell me the truth about this dress for a start! Secondly, who on earth will I ask to be my chief bridesmaid?" Clara asked casually, leaning over to the pram to entertain Liz.

"Are you serious?" Grace asked. "I thought with everything-"

"Grace for goodness sake we've been through this, don't make me give you the speech again. I love you, you're my best friend, who else would I have by my side?" Clara looked up to her briefly, smiling to prove her point. "So are you going to give me an answer?"

Grace leant over to the pram with Clara, "what dya reckon kid? Shall I get auntie Clara incredibly drunk the night before her wedding?"

"I did not put that as an option on the table," Clara replied.

"Nope, but now I'm your chief bridesmaid you just put the hen night in my control," Grace looked over at her and grinned. Clara rolled her eyes but sat up and hugged her.

"For some stupid reason I trust you," she chuckled and sat back up as Georgie came back into the room.

"Alright, the dress is ready for you in the changing room. Do you want to come through?"

Clara stood up, smiling back at Grace as she walked through and going in with Georgie. She left her to change and slip the dress on and only came in to help do it up and then check the fit. "My gosh Clara… I haven't seen a dress suit someone this well in a long time," she pulled a little at the dress to adjust it around. "Just a little bit of adjustment round the waist I think to pull it in but it's perfect."

Georgie was walking around her and making notes but Clara was just looking at herself in the mirror. She was right, it was perfect, it was everything she'd wanted. This was actually happening, she was - as Georgie had put it - finally marrying Danny Pink. They'd been through so much recently, she'd been through so much and suddenly the thought that things might actually go to plan was somewhat terrifying.

"You okay there?" Clara came back to earth when Georgie spoke to her. She suddenly realised there were a couple of tears that had escaped and wiped at them. "Don't worry, you're not the first."

"Just been a tough few weeks," Clara smiled softly. "Thank you for this."

"Hey that's my job, now go and show your friend how amazing you look I'm right behind you," she smiled and followed Clara out to see Grace.

"My gosh…" Grace had taken Elizabeth out of her pram and was stood up with her, "look at your auntie Clara Liz, look how beautiful she is," she smiled. "Clara it's perfect."

"I guess this wedding is on then," Clara replied.

"Most definitely."


	20. Chapter 20

When they arrived home Clara was in a much better mood. Seeing how perfect the dress was had really lifted her and they got back laughing. Danny came downstairs when he heard the door open and smiled when he saw them. "You were longer than I expected, had a good time?"

Clara nodded, "very good thank you. How are you doing?"

"Wonderful, especially seeing you doing so well," he smiled.

"Mmm it's nice," she suddenly realised how tired she was. Danny clicked on.

"Go sit down, I'll put the kettle on," he kissed her head and Clara nodded and went through to the lounge. Danny looked to Grace, "thank you, today's made a huge difference to her."

Grace smiled, "yeah it's nice to see her smiling again. I need to get back now is that okay?"

"Of course, but you're welcome anytime. It's been lovely to see you both," Danny smiled. Grace explained she'd already said her goodbyes to Clara and left them to it. Danny went off and made tea before joining Clara in the lounge on the sofa. "What did you two get up to then eh?"

"Just walked around the park, Lizzie enjoyed the outside a lot and I was quite enjoying it as well so we just let time run away really. What did you get up to?" she asked and leant against him carefully.

Danny shrugged, "not a lot. Grace said you talked about the wedding?"

"Did she? Oh, a bit I guess. I mean there's not a lot to discuss given I don't actually have many decisions to make," she chuckled.

"Yeah except a date would be useful so I can get on with everything else," Danny chuckled.

"Ah we got that bit - September. Definitely September."

"Thank goodness for that," he replied and Clara looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Well I may have actually already booked somewhere… on a hunch…" he grinned. "I just remembered something from a conversation. That's it though, that's all you're getting."

"This is torture, it's still months away and you really won't tell me anything!"

Danny grinned, "I've got a small army of helpers, we're all go. And all of them are sworn to secrecy."

Clara groaned and sipped her tea, "this is torture."

"Well prepare for a few more months of it. Luckily for you, I'm also here to take your mind off it," he adjusted their situation a little and rubbed her shoulders gently. "You're making amazing progress I'm so proud of you."

"We're avoiding the obvious topic of conversation," Clara replied, leaning back into him. "Tomorrow, the funerals," she reached up and used his hand sit herself up more, turning round. "We need to go. I'll be alright, you need to be there."

Danny sighed, "I don't know what to do Clara," he put his arms around her.

"You'll regret it if you don't go, they were your friends Danny," she took his hand and kissed it softly. "I'll be right there for you. I'd offer to drive but…"

"I know babe, thank you. Alright, I can do this. We'll need to leave pretty early is that okay?" he asked and Clara nodded. "You can sleep in the car I don't mind love."

"Don't be silly I can't wait for a little road trip," she smiled. "We should sort dinner soon anyway, we'll need to get an early night."

"Yeah, you know I really can't be bothered to cook tonight... chinese?" Danny asked.

Clara grinned, "now you're talking. I think I might even be able to do that one myself," she reached out and grabbed her phone from the table, opening up the app and gleefully ordering dinner. "See, just like old times."

Danny chuckled, "your cooking skills right there," he winked. Clara mock gasped, but they both knew he was a much better cook than her. "Dinner, bed, road trip. Sounds like something we'd get up to as teenagers."

"I believe we _did_ get up to that as teenagers," he chuckled and kissed her head. "That went well…"

#-#-#-#

" _My Dad will kill me!" Clara looked a little shocked at Danny's suggestion before adding, "let's do it."_

" _I'm not trying to get you into trouble I just thought it would be fun," Danny pointed out._

" _It sounds like a great escape," Clara smiled._

 _Danny had recently passed his driving test and his parents had got him a car for his birthday so a road trip seemed perfect. They'd finished for the summer holidays the day before and Clara was already losing the will at home. "You need to at least tell your Dad."_

" _Danny he'll never let me go if I tell him, if he could have his way I'd be at home 24/7, probably even follow him to work and sit by his desk all day. I'm done with the overprotective father act, I need my freedom," she told him as they lay on his bed. "Please Danny, he'll just assume I'm here anyway it'll be fine."_

 _He thought about it a moment before nodding, "just promise me you're not doing anything stupid."_

" _When have I ever done anything stupid?" she raised an eyebrow at him and Danny just gave her a cheeky grin. "Oh shut up I love you," Clara chuckled and kissed him softly._

 _The next morning Clara woke up first and sat up, looking out of the window. The sun was shining - a perfect day for a spontaneous road trip. She looked down at a sleeping Danny and leant down to kiss him, as she did his eyes flicked open and a smile crept up on his face. "Good morning beautiful," he uttered quietly._

" _Mmm your eyes are still cloudy," Clara chuckled. "We should get going, come on - shower," she smiled, sitting up and pulling him up._

 _They actually got it in the car within an hour of waking up after saying goodbye to his parents, "to the seaside!" Clara smiled and did up her belt. "I'm so ready for this."_

 _They drove the couple of hours to their destination, singing along to the tapes they'd taken with them. Clara felt free, it was amazing to be so independent for the first time since her Mum had gone. "The weather is perfect," Danny commented as they parked up. "It's lush here, good choice."_

" _It's in my Mum's book of places to visit, her and Dad came before I was born but we never did get here," she smiled. "Now we can make it our place, come on!" Clara grinned and got out the car._

 _They immediately went to the beach, running along the sand together holding hands and laughing with their freedom. Clara pulled Danny towards the sea and just as they got to the water's edge he controlled their movements so she spun into him and kissed her softly, the water lapping at their naked feet - they'd already taken their shoes off to run along the sand. "I love you so much," he ran a hand through her hair. "You hungry?"_

" _You old romantic you," she smiled, "starving."_

" _Let's go find a café," he smiled and led her back up the beach._

 _They spent the afternoon exploring the area and eventually ended up on the beach building sandcastles which ended up becoming some kind of monster structure. Danny went and bought a disposable camera and took far too many pictures for Clara's liking. "You look gorgeous, I can't help it!"_

" _I hate you," she groaned, covering her face. Danny chuckled and sat down by her._

" _No you don't," he smiled, "dinner? Fish and Chips?"_

" _You're spoiling me, let me get something," Clara replied._

 _Danny shook his head, "this is all my treat," he smiled. "I have a secret to confess, this wasn't overly spontaneous on my part. Well the day was, but I've been saving up for a while so we could do this. You deserve it, you've managed so well this last year. I'm proud to know you, to be able to call you my girlfriend."_

" _Shut up you soppy mare," she leant into him, hiding her face in his chest. "I didn't come here to cry, go and get chips before I hit you," she chuckled._

 _Danny came back with chips and they enjoyed them on the sand. Once she'd finished eating Clara lay back against him and looked up at the clouds going across the sky. "What actually is the time? It looks like it's getting darker." She watched as he lifted up his arm and looked at his watch. He looked shocked. "What's that face for?"_

" _It's um… a little late," he showed her the watch._

" _Oh damn it's gone 9?! It doesn't feel that cold…" Clara sat up. "Your Mum said you needed to get back before dark, you can't drive that far. We'll have to stay over."_

" _Clara your Dad doesn't know you're gone, we need to get back. Sorry I lost track of time," Danny sighed._

" _Oh stop, live a little! We can phone home," she smiled. "And before you even mention the cost you're not the only one with money you know?" she smiled and kissed him. "It'll be fun. A whole room to ourselves…" she smirked and walked her fingers gently up his chest. "You know you want to."_

" _You are far too persuasive Miss Oswald," he chuckled and stood up, pulling her with him. "Let's go find somewhere then," he smiled and they ran off into the town._

 _When they found a cute looking B &B Clara told Danny to let her sort it. He wasn't convinced, but as instructed stood back from the desk while Clara spoke to them. About 5 minutes later she came back over holding a key. "Sorted and paid up. Told you," she smiled. "There's a phone in the room we can use." _

_They went up to the room together and opened the door. Inside was exactly what you imagine a cute little bed and breakfast room to have - a double bed, a small balcony overlooking the sea from where they sat back in the cliffs and a small bathroom attached on. "Call your parents first, they're more important," Clara pointed at the phone and went out onto the balcony to take in the fresh air. She could hear Danny on the phone telling his parents they'd lost track of time and found somewhere to stay._

" _...yeah she's fine. I think. More okay than I'd expect her to be in a way, but I'm probably overthinking it. We'll be back tomorrow anyway I promise," he told them before a few goodbyes and he hung up, joining her outside. "Alright?" he asked and Clara nodded, leaning into him. "You can phone your Dad now. Mine was thankfully fine with it all."_

" _I love how relaxed your parents are," she smiled._

" _Me too. You know I think I might shower if that's okay?" Danny asked._

" _Sure, I'll call Dad while you're in there. That way he can only shout at me," she chuckled softly._

 _Danny went off and showered. Clara didn't phone her Dad, but when he came out she claimed she had and it was surprisingly okay._

 _They spent the night there, enjoying every moment of being alone. The next morning they woke up and had breakfast before departing their room. Despite the temptation to stay by the sea another day they did drive back and made it back to Danny's place within 2 hours. Clara was reaching down to get her bag when she heard a thud on the car. She sat up suddenly and didn't quite know what to make of what she saw. After half a second to get her head around what was happening she jumped out and ran round._

" _YOU ABDUCTED HER!" He was holding Danny against the side of the car._

" _Get off him! What are you talking about?!" She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back. As soon as his grip loosened she got Danny's hand and got him out of the grasp. Clara was terrified, why was her Dad acting like this? "I chose to go, we went together!" She wrapped her arms around Danny protectively._

" _You're 17 Clara, you can't just disappear like that and think I won't worry!" Dave shouted, he was mad - really mad._

" _All you bloody do is worry! I need some freedom! Leave me alone, I can't deal with you anymore!" She grabbed Danny's hand and made her way towards his door._

" _Wait Clara, you didn't call him did you?" he looked at her concerned._

 _Clara shrugged, "I just wanted a night away from all the rubbish I've been putting up with. Is that alright with the both of you?!"_

 _#-#-#-#_

"Yeah okay, that wasn't the most successful, but I promise not to spend £100 of my Dad's money on a spontaneous B&B," she chuckled. "Right, dinner."

#-#-#-#

The next morning they both woke to the early alarm which was quite a shock considering the lie ins they'd been having. Clara could see Danny was already apprehensive and immediately sprung into action. "Come on you, I've got a playlist ready to go and snacks for the journey, don't disappoint me now." Danny smiled, sitting up with her. "That's it. I'll go and put the kettle on and-"

"Don't think I've forgotten your limits right now. You go shower, I need to get my uniform sorted and I'll make tea," he smiled and let her go.

When she came out from showering and changing Danny had changed. Clara smiled gently, remembering how proud and yet sad she had been the first time she'd seen him in this uniform. The only time. Today was much the same feeling but for different reasons. She walked over, standing behind him as he looked in the mirror and straightening out the sides of his jacket for him. "You look very handsome." Danny simply smiled.

He drove them down and Clara kept doing her best to keep him entertained as they went. The drive seemed like an age but it was actually little over an hour as the traffic was good. They arrived in plenty of time and parked up near the church. Neither of them moved straight away. Danny stopped the engine, killing the music and sensing the car into silence. Clara reached over and took his hand causing him to look to her, "together," she reminded him.

"Always," he replied and felt Clara squeeze his hand. "We should go in."

"We should. Deep breaths okay?" she took the first step and got out of her door, prompting Danny to do the same. They joined hands again once they were both out and walked up to the church.

They'd barely made it to the door when someone came up to them. "Danny boy!" A man in the same uniform jogged over to them and Clara stepped away to allow them to greet each other. She could see Danny putting on - no - this was a genuine smile. Clara felt a relieved warmth, she had hoped he would be a little better for seeing his friends. "Good to see you man, obviously not the best circumstances but… well, been too long."

Danny nodded in agreement, "you too Jonno. Um, this is-"

"Clara!" Danny looked confused. "Mate you carried that photo everywhere. Don't think we've forgotten. It's fantastic to see you back together, exactly what you deserve," he told Danny before looking at Clara. "Pleasure to finally meet you," he told her and greeted her also.

"And you," she replied. "Sorry to seem rude but can we sit down Danny?" He immediately looked down, panicking. "Relax, just a little dizzy. It'll pass."

"Everything alright? We have medics around…" Jonno asked.

"No no it's fine, we'll catch up later," Danny smiled and put an arm more supportively around Clara to lead her inside. "Talk to me?"

"The whole being out thing - harder than I thought. But I'll be okay, honestly. This isn't about me," she told him as they found their seats and she sat down. "Go and mingle if you like, I'm not going anywhere."

Danny wasn't stupid, he knew she shouldn't be left alone. "I'm sure they can come to us," he sat down beside her, "rest your head if you need to."

Clara rolled her eyes, "I'm fine and someone else is trying to talk to you. Wait I recognise him…"

Danny followed her gaze to the man who was walking over, a smile came across him and he stood up. "Henry, so good to see you," the two men hugged briefly.

"And you, I thought you were going to keep in touch!" he replied jokingly. It suddenly clicked for Clara - Danny and Henry trained together, he'd been the year above them in school too. "Is that who I think it is?"

Clara waved from behind Danny quickly, "I can see I'm going to get a lot of this today," she commented. "Yes it is, yes we are and you only get an invite if you smile," she replied jokingly and looked back down to the message on her phone that had just come through.

"Well boy am I glad to see you two back together! How are you then?" Henry asked.

"Alright yeah, we've had some moments recently but we are getting there. The wedding is on the horizon as well as Clara hinted so there's lots to plan," he chuckled, "how're things with you?"

"Good, back for a while now working on home soil. It's good to watch the kids growing up a little more now," he smiled, "so are you really a teacher now?"

"Yep, madness! I love it though, and I'd have never found Clara again if it wasn't for the complete coincidence so yeah, it's worth it even just for that," he glanced back at Clara who was still replying to whatever was on her phone.

"Ergh get a room," Henry rolled his eyes but smiled, "good to see you. We'll catch up properly after yeah?"

"Absolutely, see you," he went off to sit down.

The service was as you'd expect from a military funeral. Clara kept a tight grip on Danny's hand and squeezed it as necessary. He didn't cry, but he wanted to. He would do, she just didn't know when. The families all spoke and even without knowing any of them Clara had to grab a few escaping tears. They were brave lads who had died for their country and left behind too many loved ones. But they were proud - proud of their sons, husbands, dads. Even the children were proud of their daddy. It was heartbreaking and yet a little uplifting too to know people could be so strong. It wasn't a sad day, it was a celebration of their lives and all that they had done.

The wake was in a pub across the road with a huge catering hall, it almost felt built for the purpose - it probably was. They got chatting, it became more relaxed as Danny started to catch up with all his old mates. Surprisingly he was coping quite well which Clara was relieved about. She sat in the corner watching him laughing with his friends and only looked back when someone sat down next to her.

"Clara right?" the woman asked and she nodded. "I'm Jonno's wife Helen, he's been banging on about you for the last hour with Danny so I thought I'd come say hi," she smiled. "Henry said you guys were together as teenagers?"

"Yeah, 6 years. We broke up when Danny was sent out, it was kind of mutual, we didn't think we'd see each other again and he wanted me to move on," she sighed at the memory. "Biggest mistake either of us made."

"But did you?" Helen asked, Clara looked confused. "Move on, did you move on?"

"I guess so, well I thought I had until Danny came back. I don't know, if he hadn't come back I'd probably have been happy, but nothing really compares," she shrugged and looked over to where Danny was stood. "Sorry, this is really soppy."

"No no I'm loving learning about you, it's something of a story among them all," she smiled. "You know I've lost count of the number of times he's looked at you."

"He's being paranoid," she chuckled, "I've not been well he's just wa-"

It happened again.

"Clara?" Helen looked confused.

"Watching me incase…" Clara spotted her face, "oh. Too late… um, I just need to," she went to stand up but lost her footing, her head still a little woozy. Helen managed to catch her before she hit the floor and helped her back to sit down. "Sorry, sorry, got up too fast."

"And before that…? Should I get Danny?" she asked.

"He's already coming," she replied, not even facing his direction but knowing he'd already have gone to the bar to get water and now was walking over. The timings worked. The only reason he wasn't rushing is because he didn't want to panic her.

Helen looked up, "how on earth?"

"He's predictable. Always has been. I can tell you a lot about him, maybe not as much as I used to but I always have," Clara smiled a little and turned around as Danny appeared behind her. "I'm okay, just panicked after but I promise I'm okay." She took the water from him and sipped it, "go, enjoy yourself. I mean, I know it's a wake but, you were catching up."

"I'm leaving you alone, I'm not meant to," Danny pointed out.

"I'm not alone actually," Clara pointed at Helen, "we were having a pretty good conversation before my brain stopped doing it's thing." Danny's eyes widened, "oh come on if I can't joke about it what can I do?"

"Alright alright, I'll go back you've made your point," he smiled a little and kissed her quickly before leaving to go back to the lads.

"I see what you mean," Helen replied. "Do you mind me asking…?"

"What happened? No. It was an accident, I bashed my head quite hard and I was pretty ill. The end result of it all seems to be these absent seizures. They're slowly getting less frequent but still usually once a day. It's difficult because I do just stop, doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing, so it has the potential to be dangerous and that's why I'm not meant to be left alone for the moment. I wouldn't leave the house for awhile but thankfully my best friend kicked me into action in time for today," she smiled. "It's not important today though, what's important is that Danny is okay," Clara turned so she could see him back chatting away. "It's good for him to see them again."

"He's been avoiding them hasn't he?" Helen asked.

Clara paused before she replied. "Yes, I think he has. It's affected him more than he will care to admit. At least this shows him that his friends are still there. Well, most of them…" she added at the end given the situation.

"They went through alot together, that changes people. I'm glad Danny's been able to do what he set out to do though," Helen replied.

"He's an awesome teacher, one of the best. The kids love him," she smiled. "I'm proud."

"So you should be," Helen replied. "He's a good man."

#-#-#-#

It was late when they got home and Danny had been quiet for the second half of the journey. They silently made their way into the house and shut the door behind them. Bed was calling and they soon were in their PJs. Clara sat up in bed as she watched Danny walking around the bedroom, trying to work out exactly what he was doing. "Come on, come to bed."

"No I need to-"

"There's nothing you need to do," it suddenly clicked. "You're trying to keep yourself busy, come here you can't keep this up forever." She managed to grab his hand as he walked by causing him to stop and turn to her. Clara pulled him in and onto the bed. "We're alone now, it's just you and me and I'm right here." Without saying anything Danny lay down with her, putting his arms around her. Clara returned the gesture and kissed him softly, and that's when the tears escaped.

It all came out, he cried for over an hour and Clara just held him, whispering reassurances in his ear but mostly just letting him cry. "It's okay to be sad, it's not weakness," she whispered. "We're gonna be okay," she added.

They would be, they had each other.


	21. Chapter 21

It seemed like she'd been off forever when Clara finally got back to work. It had taken a lot of work to persuade her doctor and Danny (who had gone back for a few weeks before the summer) that she was well enough, but the seizures were fewer and she was quite frankly fed up with being at home.

She came back to the chaos she had pretty much expected to meet, although she was quite impressed with how well Henry had coped with very little input from herself or Grace. Clara went into her room and sat down at her desk, looking around and smiling. It had been 4 and a half months since she had last been in work and it was just after the summer holidays. "Ah Miss Oswald, what a pleasure it is to have you back." Arthur was stood at her door. "In early I see?"

"Need to get this lot organised before the kids arrive. I wanted to come in over the holidays but they kindly kept my sick note running till yesterday to stop me doing so," she rolled her eyes.

"Rightly so. Henry was doing his best and your temp wasn't actually too bad, I think she tried to keep things within your systems so hopefully it won't be too bad. Is Danny in?" he asked.

"Of course, I'm still not allowed to drive. I told him to piss off so I could get organised," she chuckled.

"And I'm guessing I should do the same yeah?" Arthur asked.

"If you know what's good for you," Clara replied, grinning.

"Oh it's good to have you back, I've missed having someone telling me things straight," Arthur told her. "See you later."

Once he was gone she stood up and got on with organising everything. Unbelievably everything had been organised in her usual fashion allowing her to pull out the last few lesson plans and review where all her classes had got to. It could have been worse, but she had some work to do. The fact her own work was relatively in order made up a little for the complete madness that were her emails and the pile of work Henry and Jasmine had kindly left for her to review. Henry. She'd actually have to see him again today, joy.

An hour passed and things were finally under control. Things that needed dealing with urgently were left on her desk and everything else packed ready for a fun trip home. It was a great welcome back. She started working through a bunch of bits that needed sorting straight away, answering important emails and checking the most important of the lesson plans. "How's it all going in here?" Danny asked, knocking on her door gently but fairly pointlessly.

"As expected, thanks for coming in early," she smiled up at him.

"Not a problem, just promise me you won't stress yourself out," he walked over, standing behind her chair and gently massaging her shoulders.

Clara leant back into his grip, "promise. I've got it all under control, it's fine. Coming back at the start of a new years takes some of the pressure off. Knowing my classes didn't suffer too much is also a relief."

"You mean they didn't flunk it without the great Miss Oswald?"

"It's weird, it's not going to be long before that's not my name anymore," she smiled up at him. "Are we weird for getting married and coming back to work 2 days later?"

"Yes," he replied, "but we're very weird people."

Clara chuckled, "too true. Only 3 weeks to go," she smiled and Danny crouched down slightly to kiss her. "Mmm I love you."

"Oh good, I've missed walking by this every morning," Danny and Clara both looked up to see Danny's boss Graham. They chuckled and he groaned and walked off.

"It's great to be back, I've missed annoying your boss," Clara stood up. "I need to sort out the room now."

Danny grabbed her hand and pulled her close, "do you though?"

"Yes," she smiled, "yes I do."

"Maybe I miss you," he kissed her again.

"We're at work Mr Pink," Clara gave him a look, "don't you have anything to do? Oh no I forgot, you just write numbers on a board."

Danny looked at her in shock, "you cheeky sod!" Clara chuckled and escaped from his grasp, running to the back of the classroom. He ran after her and they ended up running round the room, Clara squealed when he caught up with her and grabbed her. "That'll teach you."

"Ah so you can teach something then," Clara grinned, not giving in. Danny tickled her a little bit. "DannY!"

"What? Problem?" he chuckled, continuing.

There was a small knock at the door and they both looked round again, "yes," Clara muttered under her breath in response to his previous question when she saw Henry.

"Be cool, don't stress out," he whispered back to her as he set her back properly on the ground. "Want me to stay?"

"I got it. I'll see you in the staffroom," she told him and he left. "Henry, what can I do for you?" she finally greeted him.

"Just wanted to say welcome back, we've missed you," he spoke trying to sound confident.

"I can see that," she gestured to the pile on her desk. He opened his mouth to apologise but she got in there first. "You did your best Henry, you're not experienced enough really but you tried and the place hasn't fallen apart. Thank you."

"And how are you? Your Dad said he hadn't heard from you-" Clara held her hand up to get him to stop.

"Personal life, work life. Remember that discussion?" she gave him a discerning look. He nodded. "Good. My father knows everything he needs to know. I'm fine, all other details were in my email. Any further conversations between you and I will be purely professional."

"Got it," he smiled a little sheepishly. "Let me know if I can do anything."

"Thanks. Get yourself settled in I'll see you later," Clara smiled. She was just about to grab her bag and go to the staffroom when there was another knock. She groaned internally before putting a smile on and turning to see a face she didn't recognise. Ah - the new teacher. Jane's replacement now she'd moved to Scotland. "David right?" she asked and walked over, holding her hand out to shake it. "I'm Clara. So sorry I couldn't be at the original interview."

"It's fine, they explained you were ill," he replied and shook her hand. "Arthur told me to report here."

"Fair enough. Let me take you to your room," she told him and walked him down. "I assume you've had the timetable already sent to you and outline of the curriculum?"

David placed his bag down on the table, "eventually."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't allowed to do anything until this morning so things might have been a little more disorganised than I'd like. Let me know if I can help with anything. I'll also need-" Clara was interrupted by him handing over a memory stick.

"My first month of lesson plans are on there along with an outline of my previous work and a brief overview of what I said in the interview incase that helps you," he told her. Clara was slightly taken aback.

"Great, thank you. You're experienced enough I'm sure this will all be fine anyway. Can I do anything else for you or shall I leave you to settle in?" He opted for the second which Clara was rather grateful for as she could get back to find her tea.

Danny was waiting in the staffroom, "everything okay with Henry?" he handed her a mug of tea and she smiled gratefully.

"Yeah. Well after I told him to stop shoving his nose in. I think my bigger problem is in the form of the new English teacher…" she told him.

"Jane's replacement?" he asked and Clara nodded. "What's the problem?"

"He's um…" she looked round to check it was safe to talk, "well. I've only met him briefly, but he was definitely judging my age and experience. I suspect I'm going to get challenged a lot."

"Well you're good with a challenge," Danny smiled, "you'll be fine. And if he causes you any grief you come and get me yeah?" he held his fists up jokingly and Clara chuckled, batting them down. "You think I can't take it?"

"I think you're out of practice," she grinned and he looked at her in mock shock. "Oh, what you gonna do about it?" Clara asked. Danny simply winked at her. "That right eh? Well we will have to see about that," she grinned.

"Ah we've missed you two causing havoc in the staffroom," Clara looked round when she heard Helen's voice and smiled. "Good to have you back Clara."

"Good to be back I assure you," she hugged her briefly. "How have you been?"

"Not bad, busy you know but the summer break was lovely. Did you two get away?" Helen asked.

"Not really, I've still had appointments regularly so that made getting away difficult. Plus someone has been sorting wedding stuff behind my back," she glanced up at Danny who shrugged.

"I can't believe how soon it is now! How on earth is he managing to do everything without you finding out, you always seem to know everything going on around here," Helen chuckled.

"I get palmed off to Grace so things can be done in secret," she rolled her eyes but smiled. "I am quite enjoying the surprise of it all to be honest. Plus not having any of the stress is quite beneficial at the moment."

"An added bonus," Danny smiled and kissed her head quickly. "I need to go and speak to Graham." Clara wished him good luck before he disappeared to the other side of the room.

"So without Danny in earshot, how you really feeling about today?" Helen asked.

Clara smiled gratefully, "nervous. It's been a while and I can't predict if I'll have any seizures. I know they're barely noticeable and knowing our kids they probably wouldn't see it but…"

"Hey, Danny briefed us all before the summer. It's okay, if you need to take a step out at any point just grab one of us," Helen placed a hand on her arm reassuringly."Believe me most of those children will just be glad to see you back, you've been well and truly missed."

Clara smiled, "I've missed them which is something I never thought I'd say. Anyway, did you interview the new guy?"

"I did. He's very experienced, taught in some of the most difficult schools around the country," Helen commented.

Clara nodded, "so why isn't he head of department somewhere?"

"He's recently changed specialties. Used to teach history, but his English experience wouldn't be enough for head of department - which he knows. I take it you've met him?" Helen asked.

"Mmm. I don't think he's taken too kindly to my age…" she rolled her eyes.

"He'll see how good you are soon enough," Helen smiled. "You wait till he learns that second in command is the same age."

"Might just combust," she chuckled. "Thanks. Do you mind if I make you his mentor? Seeing as you've met before. I'm sure he'll be fine anyway but just for showing around purposes."

"Not a problem. I'll go and hunt him down now and offer tea," Helen smiled.

"Perfect," Clara walked over to sit down when Helen left. Maybe this term wouldn't be too bad.

#-#-#-#

Friday afternoon had come around surprisingly quickly and Clara had carefully worked the timetables so she had a free last thing on a Friday. She sat in her room going through a bunch of year 7 spellings when there was a knock. Looking over she saw one of the year 9s at the door and gestured for her to come in. "Pauline, you're in Mr Fenwick's class not mine," she commented. "How can I help?"

"He's just gone crazy at Faith…" she looked a little scared. Faith was a lovely girl, smart and kind but she had aspergers and struggled sometimes. Clara stood up without hesitating.

"Alright, you okay?" Pauline nodded, "come with me but wait outside. I'll send Faith to you, bring her back here." Clara walked down the corridor with purpose and burst into the room where a shouting match was occurring between David and Faith's support teacher. "SILENCE!" she shouted, the entire class suddenly turning to face her. Once they were all stopped she walked over to Faith who was crouched in the corner and got down to her level. "Pauline is outside, you go with her to my room. You know where my water bottles are don't you?" Faith nodded. "Good, I'll come and find you shortly. Everything will be alright I promise."

She stood up and left and only once she was out of sight and earshot did Clara turn to the rest of the class. She scanned the board quickly to determine what they were doing. "I want ALL of you back in your seats. Books open to page 39 - read the section and answer the questions. Mr Fenwick, Miss Blanch, I'll speak to you outside." There was a distinct 'ooooooooo' from the students that she shut up with one glance.

Clara opened the classroom door and let them leave before following. As they left she managed to grab a spare TA who was walking by and get them to watch the class so she could take them outside the building.

"Clara no offence but it's freezing out here," Miss Blanch - Katie - told her.

"Tough. I'm not doing this infront of the students for all of our sakes," she was angry. Once they were out she turned to Katie first. "Your job is to keep Faith calm."

"Yeah and I was trying! He-" she pointed at David, "-was NOT."

"She was misbehaving!" David shouted back.

"You are both acting like children!" Clara had to shout above then again to stop another slanging match ensuing. "One at a time. Katie, what happened?"

"Oh sure ask her first," David muttered and Clara purposefully ignored it, continuing to look at Katie.

"Mr Fenwick teaches differently to how Faith is used to. I'm not saying it's bad, but she was struggling with the concept of the group work. I tried to explain but I think she was just getting more confused and stressed so she stood up. David told her to sit back down which only stressed her out further. I _tried_ to explain that she's allowed to step out once per lesson if needed but he raised his voice and told her she wasn't allowed in her lessons and… that's when it got out of control," Katie finished up.

Clara ran a hand through her hair in despair. "Do you agree that's what happened?" she asked David who shrugged. "Have you worked with SEN kids before?" she asked him again. He didn't respond. "Clearly not. And that's not a problem, but why did you then proceed to ignore the wishes of her support teacher who by definition must know Faith better than you? At the very least you should have come and found me to check."

David took a breath in and out and then looked directly at Clara, "and why would you know any better than me?"

There it was. "Because, Mr Fenwick, I've known Faith for 2 years. I've taught her for one of those and I know that if she is finding a lesson difficult then 2 minutes outside the classroom is usually enough for her to get her head together."

"Why is she even in top set anyway?" oh now Clara was struggling to hold it together. She really wanted to read this guy's references now.

"She is the brightest kid in that class if you'd simply give her a chance to show you!" Clara glanced at her watch. "Get back to your class, I'll speak to you on Monday morning when I've decided what to do about this," she told him, already sick of the sight of him. David tutted before turning on his heels to go back inside. Clara looked to Katie, "with me. We have damage control to do."

When they got to Clara's room Faith looked a little calmer. Pauline was one of her close friends and knew her well. Clara got Katie to wait outside for now and went in. "How we doing in here?"

"Okay, sorry Miss I didn't mean to upset everyone," Faith replied. "It was just so loud in there…"

"Yeah I know sweetheart, it's not your fault I promise. Mr Fenwick just didn't know, I should have told him beforehand," she did feel a little responsible, but she shouldn't really have had to tell him. "You up to seeing Miss Blanch? She's calmed down too." Faith agreed and Clara called Katie in. "Pauline can you go back and get Faith's things? You guys can work through the book activities in here today."

By the time the school bell came round Clara had got Faith back smiling and understanding the work. "I miss you teaching us."

"I know love, I miss your class too. Listen, your next lesson with Mr Fenwick is Monday just before lunch and I'm going to make sure I'm in there so you don't need to worry. We will get this sorted," she smiled. "Off you go, enjoy your weekend."

Once her room was empty she looked back at the pile of work she hadn't got done and groaned a little, sitting back at her desk. Danny would appear in a few minutes, but she could get a bit more done. She got through about 3 more books before Danny knocked on the door giving her a disapproving look. "You know the rules."

"I know, out of here by 4pm everyday. We've still got 10 minutes," she shut the lid to her laptop. "I'm going to have to do work tonight though," she told him.

"You look shattered," Danny helped her pack everything away. "What happened?"

Clara was about to respond when there was another knock at the door and she looked up to see David stood there. "What do you want?"

"I want not to be undermined like that in front of my class," he replied. Clara widened her eyes in shock and picked up her bags.

"And there I was thinking you were going to apologise. I deal with everyone the same way regardless of age or expertise. I'll see you Monday morning," she told him, walking right by him and simply assuming Danny would follow which thankfully he did. Only when they got in the car did he dare to ask what had happened. Clara explained her final lesson escapades to Danny's shock. "I'll email Arthur tonight and explain that I'm going to observe the year 9 lesson on Monday and any lesson he has when I'm free next week."

"That seems fair but it's a lot of work for you…" Danny sounded concerned.

"I know but what choice do I have? It's the same as I would do for anyone and the rest of my team know that so I can't let him off just because I've been a bit ill. I'll try and do some work while I'm watching him, I only need to be in the room," Clara leant back against the seat while he drove. "I knew he was going to be trouble."

"You handled it well, I'm proud," Danny smiled, pulling up in their drive. "Come on. I'll cook dinner, you can shower and get in your PJs. If you have to work at least do it comfortable with good food and tea."

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?" Clara turned her head and smiled at him.

"Maybe once or twice," he smiled back before they both got out of the car.

#-#-#-#

Monday morning came around far too easily and Clara walked into work with Danny. David was already in his room. "He's keen," Danny muttered.

"Mmm, I've got to tell him the good news now," she replied equally quietly.

"Getting your company multiple hours a week? I'd take that any day," Danny grinned.

"You do get that everyday," Clara pointed out,

"That's a fair point," Danny smiled, "I'd always settle for more," he kissed her gently. "I'll go and make tea."

"You're a star," she kissed him again and let him go, knocking on David's door before going in. "Morning, good weekend?"

"Lovely thank you, yours?" she asked.

"Busy," Clara responded, in reality she'd spent most of the weekend doing nothing other than lying in work and marking having tired herself out in the week. "I've spoken to Arthur and we've agreed that I will sit in with your year 9 lesson today and any lessons when I'm free. Please don't argue the situation, I'm about as happy about it as you are I assure you."

David looked up, "fine. Not sure what you expect to achieve though."

"Hopefully nothing, hopefully you'll prove to me that you're a good teacher and can actually deal with different pupils needs," Clara told him. "I don't want you to fail David." He scoffed at her comment. "Think whatever you like, I'll see you 4th period," she held her hands up in defeat before walking out.

Once she'd setup in her own room she went to find Danny. He could tell by the look on her face it hadn't gone well. "That great huh?"

"Mmm I've had more promising conversations. You alright?" she asked, sitting down with him. Danny slipped an arm around her and played with the edge of her hair.

"I am now," he smiled.

"God you two never stop," they both leaned back to see who had just come in and smiled at Helen. "Morning, good weekend?"

"Reasonable. How about yours? It was your daughter's birthday wasn't it?" Clara asked.

"Well remembered," Helen smiled and walked over to sit adjacent to them. "Her 16th, tiring but a good weekend."

"Glad to hear it. So is everything alright with your classes?"

"All good. Settling in nicely, are we having a meeting this morning?" Helen asked and Clara nodded.

"In 10 minutes, hopefully not too much to discuss," she told her.

"Best go get myself organised then. See you there," Helen jumped up and left. Her seat was soon replaced by Jasmine.

"I was hoping I could have a quick word…" Jasmine looked at Danny a little. Clara took the hint and sat up, sending Danny off. "I know things aren't great between you and Henry but I was hoping we could start fresh? I've missed having you around that's for sure."

Clara smiled gratefully and sat forward, "of course. You've got your final assessment this term then you can be free of my hovering," she chuckled. "If you want to go over anything just let me know okay?"

"Thank you. And um, I heard everything yesterday with David," not a huge surprise given her room was opposite, "for what it's worth I think you were right to pull him out like that."

"Cheers, not my favourite part of the job."

"Yeah, you're too nice for it," Jasmine smiled. "Meeting at 20 past?" Clara nodded. "See you then."

#-#-#-#

Sitting at the back of David's classroom gave Clara a lot of time to work him out. He was a good teacher, what he was saying was good and she liked his style, but he was missing something.

30 minutes into the lesson she could see Faith getting confused again. She kept an eye on her and watched Kate try and explain what was going on but Clara had a feeling she wasn't overly sure either. What David was doing was clever, but for someone who took life so literally it was probably difficult to grasp. Clara watched David spot her, but he didn't do anything. Faith started to get a little more agitated - now she had to step in. They weren't having a repeat of Friday. She stood up without interrupting the class and walked to Faith's desk, crouching beside her. "Take 5 minutes outside to clear your head, it's alright."

"But Mr Fenwick said-"

"I know, but I'm his boss and I say you can," she smiled. "Go on, I'll sort it," she nodded to Kate who got up with her and went outside. Clara walked to the front and spoke to David now the rest of the class were working on their tasks. "She just needs to calm down, I'll try and explain what you're doing."

"I can explain myself," he tutted.

"Be my guest," she gestured to the door but he didn't move. "Thought as much." Clara left the room and went after the student.

4 and a half minutes later - Faith never went over the 5 - she walked back into the classroom. Kate and Clara followed and retook their own seats without saying anything. Faith looked a lot happier and she quickly got to work.

Once the class came back together for ideas Clara had to work hard not to look smug. Faith had done fantastic work, as always, and David looked a little shocked. When the lesson ended and the class had left she got up and went to speak to him, raising her eyebrows. "Alright so she's clever. I get it."

"That girl will teach you things Mr Fenwick," Clara smiled at him politely before leaving the room. She would get him under control yet.

 **There won't be a Christmas specific chapter in this story, but check out 'Back to School' where the next chapter will hopefully give you some pinkwald Christmas feels :)**


	22. Chapter 22

"I'm losing the will to live," Clara growled and threw the pile of work down on the table and stood up, "sorry, not your fault Megan, I'm coming." They were 2 weeks down the line and Clara had lost count of the number of times she'd had to sort out problems in that same classroom. She stormed off down the corridor, following the noise and throwing the classroom door open, "STOP RIGHT NOW!" That got their attention as her voice generally did in a classroom. "What the hell is going on in here?!" 30 children started shouting things at her, "enough! Where's Mr Fenwick?" She scanned the room but everyone was shrugging. "Alright back in your seats and books out! You lot are doing Much Ado about Nothing right? Someone tell me where you've got up to?"

She ended up teaching the rest of the lesson when David simply didn't reappear. Clara let the class go and ran a hand through her hair. She stormed out and went straight to the staffroom, going in and looking around, spotting David in the corner at the table. Clara walked over and slammed a hand down on the table, "what the hell are you playing at? You don't just walk out of a class! I had to teach the rest of your lesson."

"They were out of control, I figured if I left them to it they might realise what they were doing," he shrugged.

"Is this a tried and tested method you have there? Because it didn't bloody work. Your classroom is still a mess they were running riot in there but at least I managed to get part of the play into them," she looked at the books he was sat marking, "well I hope you enjoyed getting your work done because I've done absolutely nothing. Only one of us had a free lesson this afternoon," Clara stood up. "I'm fed up of clearing up your messes. Sort it out before I reach the end of my tether," she finished before storming out again, ignoring everyone staring at her.

"That's not the end of her tether?" David finally spoke to the room what was now looking at him.

"You don't want to see that. It's happened once," Helen warned him, "wasn't pretty," she added and followed Clara out to her room. "Why didn't you tell any of us he was being difficult?"

Clara looked around to Helen, "it's not your problem," she shrugged.

"Clara for goodness sake, you're supposed to be being careful - let us help you," Helen told her, leant against the door frame.

"It's a mess, but I just have to hope he'll listen to me. He's a good teacher when he actually plays by the rules but his powers of discipline are pretty poor and I can't keep having to take over his lessons, half the time I have my own to run! I'm so behind on my marking it's getting ridiculous and I'm honestly out of-"

"Clara?" Helen took a couple of steps in.

"-ideas…" Clara finished off but noticed Helen had moved and she couldn't remember that happening.

"That's what they're like then huh?" Helen walked over to her. Clara had explained it all when she came back, there was no point in hiding anything, but they'd been lessening anyway. "You're getting too stressed Clara, go home."

"It's the end of the day…" Clara pointed out, "that is what we generally do."

"Go home, and leave your work here," Helen instructed.

"Tell me the last time you did that," Clara crossed her arms.

"When someone realised I needed it," she came back and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I promise it will be fine, just go and find Danny and go home. Enjoy your weekend, do something fun." Clara sighed, she did need it but the thought of leaving all the work was horrible.

"Am I missing something interesting?" Danny walked in with his bags.

Helen got in before Clara could. "I'm prescribing a weekend off. David stressed her out again."

"That man…" Danny clenched his fists and little but relaxed. "Helen's right. Come on, let's get you back. I think there's a bottle of wine in the cupboard with our name on it."

Clara nodded and went to put the pile of books away but Helen put a hand on top of them. "I told you to leave them, I'll sort it."

Danny took her hand, "come on, it's fine." Clara grabbed her bag and walked towards the door. He turned around and mouthed a thank you to Helen who responded by mouthing that she'd had another seizure. He nodded and followed Clara out.

#-#-#-#

Clara lay on the sofa while Danny cooked, only sitting up when he came in with trays. She hadn't even protested so he knew something wasn't right. "Made your favourite," he smiled.

Clara managed a smile back and took the tray, "thanks, I'm sorry I'm not great company tonight."

"Nonsense, you're always great company. Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"Not really, it's done now. I'm sure someone will fill you in on my outburst in the staffroom if you ask nicely," she rolled her eyes and tucked into her dinner. "This is amazing."

"Good subject change there," he winked, "but thank you. So what should we do this weekend?"

"Well is there anything for the wedding…" Clara started, but Danny gave her a look. "It's in a week Danny, is there really nothing that needs doing?"

"Nothing, it's all organised," Danny told her. "Honestly, stop worrying and eat your dinner," he grinned. Clara shrugged and looked back at her dinner.

#-#-#-#

They didn't get up till lunch, it was perfect just lying in bed together. When they did get up they pretty much just moved to the sofa, "I love you," Danny kissed her head. "We should go out tonight, I want to treat you."

"You don't have to do that," Clara smiled.

"Come on, one last date night? I'll book somewhere nice," Danny grinned and bumped up against her. "It'll be fuuun."

"Mmm the end of it will be," she winked and he laughed. "Alright alright, deal. What time?"

"Hm… leave here about 6?"

"Sounds good. Can lie here for a couple of hours yet then," she settled back down. "This was a good idea."

A few hours later Clara came downstairs dressed up with her hair done in a dress she hadn't worn in quite a while. Danny gasped when she appeared, but Clara looked confused.

"You haven't changed…?"

"Nope, because he's not coming," Grace appeared from round the corner. "Clara Oswald welcome to your hen night." Clara looked at Danny, "we both knew you'd never agree if we asked, so we didn't. Now come on we are already late," she chuckled and grabbed her hand.

"2 seconds, I'll meet you outside," Clara assured her and Grace nodded, leaving. She turned to Danny, "are you doing anything?"

"Yes, going down to the pub with the lads. Enjoy yourself, let your hair down," he kissed her.

"It's already down," she smirked and Danny rolled his eyes. "Go on, get ready. See you later." Clara kissed him and went out. There was a limo at the end of the drive, "are you kidding?"

"I did warn you," Grace chuckled and pushed her towards it. Inside were a few of their other friends.

"Thought you were never coming!" Helen chuckled.

"Looking very glam," another friend Gigi smiled and handed her a glass of champagne.

Clara sat down, confused but happy. They drove off and after a little while turned up at a rather nice looking restaurant that she hadn't been to before. The meal was fun, people kept buying her drinks and Clara was having a great night and definitely felt the most relaxed she had in ages. After they had eaten they were taken behind the bar to make cocktails. Grace kept an eye on her, but couldn't help but smile as she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Clara drunk.

As the night went on they only drunk more. Grace stopped after a while to make sure she would get everyone back in one piece - that and she had a needy small child to get up to in the morning. They'd gone to sit back down and Clara joined Grace. "Aren't you drinking?" she giggled, sipping on another cocktail.

"I'm keeping an eye on you," Grace grinned. Clara leant towards her and almost fell over. "That's why! Sit upright," she steadied her friend. "Having a good night?"

"The best. I can't believe I'm going to be married next week," she giggled again. "I'm getting old," she added with a whisper.

"Oh shush you, you're beautiful and still young. Whole life ahead of you, you and Danny are going to have a wonderful time together you were made for each other. I can't believe you never mentioned him before," Grace smiled.

"I thought I was never going to see him again, needed to get over him so talking about him wasn't beneficial," Clara shrugged. "It didn't work though."

"What didn't?"

"Trying to get over him. Never did," she mumbled a little slurred. "Sure I loved James but it wasn't the same you know and-"

"Clara I don't think now's the time for this conversation. Go and have a dance!" Grace encouraged and Clara soon agreed, jumping up and almost jumping into of Helen as she joined some of the girls on the dance floor. After a few seconds Clara ran back and grabbed her hands.

"Come on, I need to dance with my best friend," Clara pulled her up and Grace smiled, deciding not to think about where Clara was going with their previous conversation and enjoying the rest of the night.

#-#-#-#

"Dannyyyyyyy!" Clara announced as they climbed out of the taxi.

"Clara it's 3am, quiet," Grace whispered to her, helping her out.

"Oops," she whispered back, giggling. "I think I might be a little drunk. Don't tell Danny."

"I think he might notice," Grace chuckled and unlocked the door. As she'd expected Danny was there waiting. "Good night?"

"Great thanks. I don't think I need to ask you…" he looked at them.

"Danny!" Clara almost lept out of Grace's grasp and flung her arms around Danny who had to grab her waist to keep her upright. Both Danny and Grace smiled.

"I think you got it. I'd better get back. She had a great time, we all did," she told him. "Thanks for letting me organise it."

"Thanks is all to you for doing so, and for keeping an eye," Danny smiled gratefully. "See you next week." Grace nodded and left to go back to the taxi.

"You're not drunk," Clara observed, poking him gently in the chest with each word.

"Your powers of observation are still strong my love. Just had a couple and played some darts - badly. Was a good night, as indeed yours appears to have been," he told her.

"It was amazing, there are so many cocktails!" Clara went to spread her arms out but lost balance as she did and Danny had to catch her. "Oops. These heels are slippy."

"I think we should get them off and get to bed don't you?" Danny suggested. Clara nodded and kicked off the shoes. "Hey look you shrunk!" He got a sharp look in response but he simply smiled and in one swift move got her up in his arms.

"My hero," she smiled and kissed him. "Definitely time for bed," she winked and Danny chuckled, carrying her upstairs.

#-#-#-#

Clara woke up entangled in bed sheets. The sun was shining in but the moment she opened her eyes she groaned and turned over, putting her head into Danny's chest. "Afternoon sleepyhead," he leant down and kissed her head gently. "Headache?" Clara mumbled a little against his chest but didn't move. "I got tea and painkillers here," he stroked her hair gently. Clara lifted her head. "Thought so. I will need to move…"

Reluctantly Clara rolled back off him and sat up a little, "wow I haven't drunk that much in years…" she commented.

"You haven't got much better at handling it either," Danny handed her the mug of tea and tablets. "Cute though," he added and kissed her softly. "You want anything to eat?"

Clara considered this for a moment before looking up at him and smiling, "pancakes would be amazing."

"I suppose I'd better make some then hadn't I?" he chuckled. "Anything else while I'm up?"

"Mmm yes a foot massage would be lovely," she grinned and Danny rolled his eyes, knowing she was joking. "You're doing more than enough go on."

Clara reached over and grabbed her phone, opening up her emails. The first one was from Helen about an hour ago.

 _Don't even think about it. Especially not with the hangover you must have. See you tomorrow, H x_

Clara chuckled. She did actually remember most of the previous night and it had been a lot of fun, albeit a little cringy when some of the dancing came to mind. It showed her just how much her friends meant to her, and maybe even how much she meant to them. As instructed she shut her emails and instead opened the text from Grace.

 _Afternoon, how's the head? If it's any consolation I've got a screaming child today. Hope you had a good time last night xx_

Clara smiled, replying.

 _The head is… interesting. Can't believe you let me drink that much! It was a wonderful night, can't believe how long it'd been since we've done that. Thank you for everything, I hope Elizabeth is okay. Guess I'll see you next weekend… :s xx_

She put her phone down and grabbed the TV remote, flicking some fairly mindless show on and lying back with her tea. Danny reappeared with a plate of pancakes. Clara smiled as he came in, "mmm yes thank you that looks amazing."

"I didn't know how many you wanted so I went a little mad," he chuckled.

"Quite honestly I'm starving," she grinned. "Are you okay? Did you have a good night?"

"Wonderful thank you, had a few drinks and a few laughs. Got back about 1 and then waited for you," he poked the end of her nose as he finished.

"You didn't have to wait up," Clara told him as she tucked into her breakfast.

"Oh I think I did," Danny chuckled. "I was just glad to see you enjoyed yourself."

"You're a sneaky sod, but I really do love you," Clara said between mouthfuls of pancake. "I love you even more for these," she mumbled with a mouthful of food.

Danny chuckled and finished up his breakfast with her.

#-#-#-#

When Clara got back to work on Monday she found the pile of books on her desk with a note on top.

 _Hope the head is better. Your year 7s are pretty inventive! H x_

She smiled, sitting down at the desk and looking through the top book. "Don't you trust me?"

Clara looked up and noticed Helen stood at the door. "Of course I do you've been at this far longer than me, just a little shocked. Thank you."

"I wanted you to enjoy this weekend, that's why I wouldn't let you take it home," she grinned.

"Well in answer to your question the head is fine. Thank you so much for this, and for coming on Saturday I hope you had a good time?"

"Absolutely, good to let your hair down once in a while. I'm going to finish sorting myself out but if you need a hand with anything or… anyone… let me know," Helen told her. Clara smiled gratefully. "You've got enough to think of this week Oswald."

"I haven't got a lot to think about at all, I haven't got the foggiest clue what's going on - you probably know more than I do!"

"That is most definitely true," Helen chuckled. "Oh you're going to love it," she smiled and left.

The day got going. David hadn't turned up to the meeting and was essentially avoiding her all day, but Clara made sure to walk by his classroom occasionally. When lunch came about Danny appeared at the door with food. "I had a feeling you wouldn't leave so I bought food to you."

Clara looked up and smiled gratefully, "thanks. I want to keep up to date with everything this week," she told him. "I can't believe how calm you are over the weekend. Even I'm stressed and all I need to do is turn up," she chuckled when Danny came and sat down on the edge of her desk.

"It's completely under control. I am just getting impatient now," he handed her the sandwich. "It's going to be a long week."

"Oh definitely," she sat back to eat. "But this time next week the sign on my door will have changed," she smiled.

"Are you really that organised?" Danny asked.

"Well I've had bugger all else to do," Clara opened the drawer of her desk and pulled out the new sign.

"I'm almost surprised you're actually changing it," Danny chuckled as he took the sign to inspect it.

Clara shrugged, "people can laugh all they want, it's part of the charm," she smiled and kissed him. "Now I really do need to get on with this work or I'll be doing it walking down the aisle."

"I wouldn't even put it past you," he chuckled. "Alright, see you at 4."

#-#-#-#

Friday rocked around quite fast and Clara was sat in yet another lesson of David's, trying to do her own work while keeping an eye on his more difficult class. It was going alright until about half way through when he tried to set a task that they were less than impressed with.

"But this is boring!"

"Tough, it's part of the lesson," David replied. The groups weren't doing as they were asked Clara could already spot phones out and conversation was clearly not on topic. She looked up but David was simply sat at his desk with some other marking. She stood up and walked down to him.

"They're not doing the work," she whispered.

"I know, it's their loss," David shrugged. Clara looked up at the class who had clearly noted that their teacher was ignoring them.

"So you're just going to let them play on their phones and mess around?" she questioned. He shrugged again. "I don't know where you were before but that's not how we work here." David looked hesitant. "You need to settle them down and get them to work."

He stood up and Clara stepped out of the way. "Alright settle down!" Nothing. "I set you a task!" David shouted again but when there was no response again and he turned back to Clara giving her a _there you go_ look.

Clara sighed and stepped forward, clapping loudly and putting on her louder, but not quite shouting voice, "Mr Fenwick has set you a task and that doesn't include your phones," she grabbed the metal bin and pulled the bin bag out, tying the handles and putting that down. "Phones in here till the end of the day, you can collect them from my room," she started walking around everyone who'd had their phones out, making sure to get all of them, some stern looks being given when they tried to suggest they hadn't been using their phones. "Now get on with it because nobody is leaving this room before the work is done and if that means break detention then so be it."

Once they were all working she gestured to David to go outside the classroom and shut the door, making sure the students were aware she was still watching. "Well they sure won't like you after that."

"I've been doing it for years now and I'm still one of the more popular members of staff around here. This job isn't about being best mates with them you know? They're running rings about you at the moment. They need to know the student teacher divide, but there's also nothing wrong with having a bit of fun in your lessons too. It's not all books and paper," she told him. "Yes, these tasks still have to happen but a lot of your lessons I've sat in on have been very… similar. You're a good teacher, you know your stuff, but you have to convince them of that - not me." David scoffed a little. "Alright, you have a free on Monday 1st period, I want you to come in to my lesson. Just watch. They're set 5 year 11s and they're not an easy bunch."

"Fine, whatever," he shrugged. Clara resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Ah Clara, are you still leaving early today?" Arthur, the head, walked by them in the corridor.

"Unless you need me?" she checked.

"Nonsense. As soon as period 4 is over you get out of here, you have far more important things," he chuckled. "I'll be checking you're gone!"

"I don't doubt it. Thanks," she smiled as he continued on.

"Since when did teachers get to leave early then?" David questioned.

"Since they had a wedding to get to," Clara responded calmly.

"And whose wedding is that important then?"

"Mine," she replied and immediately went back into the room leaving David a little bemused.

When the lesson ended and the kids had left Clara picked up her stuff and made her way to the door. "I had no idea you were getting married? I assume it's that maths guy?"

"Good to know you're getting to know the staff," Clara rolled her eyes, "yes, Danny. Now if you will excuse me I really have to get on."

"Wait but you're in next week?"

"Yep, kids to teach. Honeymoon can wait for the holidays," she shrugged. "If I don't see you later then don't forget Monday."

#-#-#-#

At the end of 4th period there was a knock on the door and Clara looked up to see Grace at the door. "Why are you here?"

"Instruction from the boss, I'm here to collect you," she grinned. "Come on pack up!"

"Grace what's going on?" Clara asked as she put all her bits away.

"You're getting married…" Grace pointed out and Clara rolled her eyes, "secrets Clara Oswald secrets! For goodness sake hurry up I've been waiting all day."

A few minutes later everything was sorted, "alright alright I'm coming you are so impatient woman!" she chuckled and followed Grace out to the car, opening the boot. "Wait, all my stuff is in here?"

"Yep, ready to go. Come on jump in," Grace smiled and got in the car, leaving Clara with no choice but to follow.

"Are you really not going to tell me where we're going?"

"I'm on strict instructions," Grace grinned.

"I thought you were my maid of honour not Danny's!" Clara grumped a little jokingly. Grace shrugged. "And where's your daughter anyway?"

"Already at our destination. Fran is on babysitting duty," she replied casually.

"Is everyone there or something? I'm so confused," Clara groaned and sat back but Grace only grinned.

"You're gonna have to wait to find out. You're not getting it out of me!"

Clara knew she was right too.


	23. Chapter 23

**Are you sat down and relaxed? Good, because this is a long one...**

 **#-#-#-#**

Clara tried hard to get something out of Grace as they drove but she was keeping to her word. The drive was just over an hour and Clara really had no idea where they were going so she'd given up and shut her eyes. "Oi Clara, we're here," Grace announced and stopped the car.

"And where exactly is here?" Clara asked.

"Well opening your eyes is a start…" Grace chuckled and Clara did.

"My gosh this place is- wow, how did he… this is…"

"Clara Oswald speechless, I never thought I'd see the day! Yes, this is the place you think it is. It seems your husband-to-be has a very good memory…"

#-#-#-#

 _Excluding their slightly mad night away this was the first holiday they'd had together and they were both revelling in it. Danny's parents had got them the hotel getaway for Christmas. Now Clara was 18 her Dad couldn't stop her and that meant she was round at Danny's a lot more - his parents claimed this was to get them out of their hair for a weekend._

 _It was Saturday afternoon and once they'd finally got out of bed they had decided to go and explore the local area. "There's a really beautiful castle round here somewhere…" Danny told her, looking at the map._

" _You've spent more time looking at that map than at the surroundings. Come on, we'll find it on our own time," Clara pulled the map from him and took his hand and they kept walking._

 _Maybe they took the long way round but eventually, after a climb, they found the castle. "Wow…" Clara spoke a little breathless. "You were right, it's stunning. With the backdrop too…"_

" _They've just got permission to convert it into a wedding venue apparently. They're going to renovate the internal structure without losing the shape and then add rooms," he explained._

" _How on earth do you know that?" Clara asked._

" _Planning notice," Danny replied, pointing to the sign he was reading when she looked to him. Clara walked over and joined him._

" _Imagine how beautiful that would be," Clara smiled. "Maybe one day we'll be here again," she added a little quieter. Danny didn't reply, but he stored that piece of information somewhere for future reference. "Let's explore, come on," Clara dragged him back from his daydream but he vowed never to forget what she'd said._

 _#-#-#-#_

Clara followed Grace inside and over to the reception desk. "Which of you is Clara?" the male receptionist asked but Clara was so busy looking around she missed the question.

"That would be her, but she's a bit in shock - this was all a surprise. The venue I mean, she does know she's getting married," Grace added for clarity.

"Ah yes, we do have that on file. So my name's Adam and I'm around if you need anything. Obviously the main event is tomorrow so here are your room keys, they're close to each other tonight - important for the bride and maid of honour of course. Any questions don't hesitate to ring down. There's also unlimited room service included in your package so anything you like just let us know. Your bags have gone up ahead of you so everything should be there when you arrive."

Clara looked around and realised their bags had indeed disappeared. "What the hell has Danny done?" she asked, still shocked. Grace smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Come on, there's plenty more yet," she thanked Adam and took Clara up to the room.

"How do you know your way around here?" Clara asked suspiciously.

"Danny made me come with him to check the place out. And that was before we'd really made up so that guy really loves you," she smiled and stopped. "This is you, go in on your own. I'll come back in a few minutes."

"Was he serious about the room service" Clara asked and Grace nodded.

"Absolutely. Which means when I come back we are stuffing our faces in our PJs and watching films." Grace grinned, "see you in a bit." She left and Clara inserted her key to get into the room, opening it.

As she stepped inside Clara gasped at how beautiful it was. The room was very in keeping with the age of the building, although there was a TV and a coffee machine the whole place felt very historic and rugged. She walked around the room, gently running her fingers over surfaces and stopping at the window. The view was still just as stunning as it had been all that time ago. She grabbed her phone and turned around, walking towards the bed. She was mid text to Danny when she looked up and noticed there was something on the bed. Clara put her phone down on the bed and picked up the envelope, opening it.

 _Happy wedding eve. You won't be seeing me tonight, and don't text me either - this is your night. Enjoy, I'll see you at the end of the aisle. Enjoy the view, I love you xx_

She picked up the box next and opened it.

 _Oh yeah, and there's this. Now I'm going to go x_

Clara chuckled and then looked down, gasping. "How much more have you got up your sleeve Danny Pink?" she spoke into the room, looking down at the box. As she did there was a knock at the door. She stood up and walked over to the door, opening it but walking back over to the bed and sitting down.

"Clara Oswald are you crying?" Grace asked, walking over once she'd shut the door. "Ah yes what was in that box anyway?"

"It's the bracelet he got me for our first anniversary. It wasn't the most expensive but I wore it so much even when it started to look tired," she took it out of the box and held it in her hand. "When he left I slipped it in his pocket just as something to… I don't know, remember me by I guess? I never expected him to still have it let alone have it all polished up for tomorrow. How has he done all this while looking after me and…" she had to stop.

Grace sat down beside her and put a hand on her arm, "he loves you, you idiot. If you cry at every surprise this weekend you're going to flood the place."

"I just can't understand why he'd want to do all this, I've put him through so much-"

"Clara Oswald please stop-" Grace paused, "I'm going to miss calling you that. It might take time to kick the habit. Anyway, stop it. Your fiancé has done what every good guy should do and looked after you. The vows you're going to make tomorrow will include the line 'in sickness and in health' and he's already stuck by that. He's clearly had this wedding planned out for a long time, much longer than you've been engaged. I don't think this is just your dream wedding Clara, I think this is what he's wanted since you were 17."

"That's why he wanted to take charge, because he already had it all planned out…" Clara realised.

"Mhm. You know when you told me you wanted the wedding in September? I already knew that. He told me that's what you'd said to him once. I mean I think that guy actually remembers every conversation you've ever had. He never got over you Clara, not even for a second. And honestly? I don't think you ever got over him either. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but look at you. When he left you gave him that bracelet even though it was meant to be a clean break, you both kept things of each other and when you were back in close proximity it didn't take long. I can really see why everyone who knew you back then isn't the least bit surprised this is all happening," Grace explained. She was right, Danny knew everything about this weekend before he'd even arrived back - except it was a dream then. Now it's a reality and he'd gone for every detail. "You haven't even started getting ready. Why don't you grab a quick shower? I'll order some food in."

"Perfect, thank you Grace. I couldn't do all this without you I'd have drowned in my own tears by now," she smiled softly.

#-#-#-#

They hadn't had a night together like this in months and Clara was really enjoying it. They made the most of the room service and watched films as the night went on. "It's getting late, guess I should let you get some sleep," Grace stood up as the film credits began to roll. "You alright?"

Clara nodded, "yeah, thank you. Tonight was really good. Should I set an alarm?"

"I'm your alarm, you just sleep. It's all in hand," she smiled. "Well, goodnight Miss Oswald," Grace said for the last time before leaving.

Clara didn't move for a moment, it was strange to think that this was finally happening. She eventually lay back, pulling the covers over her and looking up at the ceiling. Suddenly the prospect was scary. Nothing was really changing except her name. They were already living together, their lives were set, but this was final. She wanted it to be too, that wasn't the problem, but this was something they had both wanted for so long and she wanted Danny to have the best day. As she shut her eyes she just hoped she could live up to whatever it was he had planned.

#-#-#-#

"Wakey wakey!" Grace was knocking at the door, Clara woke to the sound. "Oi let me in I look weird out here." Clara groaned, getting out of bed and opening the door.

"Grace there's hardly anyone else here," she pointed out. "Come on get in here, tell me what's happening then.

"You are going to shower and wash your hair, take your time - the hairdresser is due in half an hour. I'll get everything sorted in here. Go on," Grace practically pushed her towards the bathroom and then got to work.

When Clara appeared from the bathroom she found Grace stood talking to a lady who Clara could only presume was here for her hair. "Ah, perfect timing. Clara this is Phillipa, I would trust her to cut my hair blindfolded. She did, however, leave her blindfold behind today so she will style with her eyes open. I've shown her the dress and she has the perfect plan for you."

"Duly noted," Clara replied and sat down in the chair in front of the mirror.

"People who are staying over have started to arrive, I'm going to check everything is going as planned. I'll be back later," Grace smiled and left.

"Guess that's us then," Phillipa chuckled, taking the towel from Clara's head and organising her hair. "Grace tells me this is all a big surprise for you?"

"Danny organised everything. Well, except the dress and apparantely you. I know he's had a bit of help from Grace and others, but most of it is him." Clara smiled into the mirror.

"I think it's wonderful. You've been together a while? Grace said something about school?" Phillipa asked. Clara explained the story, conveniently leaving out the part about Grace and James. "Wow, that was not what I expected to hear. What a story, that's one to tell the grandkids. You got any plans?"

"Kinda, I don't know we're just taking things as they come now. We waited long enough for this, we can wait for everything else too," Clara smiled.

"Well I wish you the best of luck," Phillipa told her.

"I have a visitor," Grace reappeared having taken the key for the room with her.

"I can't look Grace, I'm being redecorated," Clara pointed out, grinning.

Grace walked over, "oh right yeah," she appeared behind her so Clara could see in the mirror. "Lizzie was missing you," she smiled and handed her over.

"Well hey beautiful girl, don't you look bright today," Clara smiled, sitting her on her lap and holding her facing the mirror as she couldn't look down. Elizabeth looked confused and made a squeal, reaching out. "Is that you? Yeah it is!"

"She is so cute," Phillipa smiled.

"Chief bridesmaid right here," Clara smiled, "her Mum is just following orders right Lizzie?" Another little squeal and they all laughed. "I love you baby girl, but I think your Mummy is gonna have to take you back before you clamber off me, you're very wriggly today."

"She's excited to see Auntie Clara get married aren't you hey? Yes beautiful girl," she smiled. "Right I'm gonna get this one back to Fran while you finish off. I'll be back for phase 2 shortly."

"Everything she says scares me," Clara chuckled. "Luckily I trust her. Not that I have much choice in the matter today, but I do."

"Well do you trust me? Because I think we are just about done here," Phillipa said. "Shut your mouth and eyes - spray." She used a good amount of hairspray. "And open," she told her, holding a mirror up behind her. Clara gasped.

"It's beautiful, wow what did you do to me it's like a miracle," she chuckled. "Thank you so much…" she reached a hand up to gently touch the plaits around her ears, "it suits the dress perfectly."

"Well I wanted to capture the Victorian aspect of the dress, it's lovely," Phillipa explained, "you're going to look incredible, but my work here is done. I believe Grace should be back any second… ah! Right on cue," the door opened and Grace walked in.

"Holy… wow, Phillipa I knew you could do it. Thank you so much, there's a breakfast thing going on downstairs feel free to help yourself. Hang around, see the finished product," Grace smiled.

"Excuse me I heard breakfast," Clara questioned.

"Yeah yeah I got you food, eat before I work magic on your face," Grace chuckled, waving her makeup bag and handing over the plate she'd bought in for Clara. Phillipa thanked them both before leaving.

Clara tucked into a croissant, "wow that's good. As is she, where you been hiding her away?"

Grace smiled and sat down, "saving her for a special day. You really do look amazing, I don't think my little bag is actually all that necessary, but nonetheless here I am. I'll get going when you've eaten."

"Is Danny here?" she asked. Grace raised her eyebrows.

"Really? Not even telling me that?" Clara asked.

"Really. You know all you need to," Grace grinned.

"I know practically nothing Grace."

"Exactly, now eat up I have a schedule to keep."

Once she'd finished Grace started on her make-up. She went for a subtle tone, nothing overstated with very little dark colours on the eyes. "There, perfect," Grace smiled and stepped back. Clara turned on her chair to look back in the mirror.

"Grace… thank you, it's perfect," Clara smiled.

"You know what comes next then?" Clara nodded. "Let's get that dress on."

Grace helped her with the dress which thankfully wasn't too complicated. "Blimey it fits like a glove."

"Told you she was good," Clara smiled.

"Go on then, face the mirror," Grace told her.

"I'm scared," Clara admitted.

"I'll push you myself if you don't turn around. Clara you look beautiful. You're gonna blow them all away," Grace was almost teary.

She took a deep breath and turned to look in the mirror. "Wow… you guys have all…"

"No Clara, that's all you. And we are just on time, you ready? I just have to change quickly so you take time, take a few deep breaths and I'll be back soon." Grace disappeared.

#-#-#-#

When she came back Clara was staring out of the window, "hey your fave bridesmaid is here come on, it's time."

"Modest with it," Clara smiled, not turning around.

"I wasn't talking about me," Grace chuckled. Now she turned around and Clara smiled when she saw Elizabeth. "She's very excited."

Clara walked over, "are you going to steal the show today? I think you might just do," she smiled at Liz before looking up at her Mum. "You both look beautiful Grace, stunning."

"Ready Oswald?" Grace asked and Clara smiled, nodding. "Let's go then."

They walked downstairs slowly, but it didn't take long for Clara to spot who was waiting at the bottom. "What's he doing here?"

"Danny and he spoke. Linda's not here, it's just your Dad. Clara you'll regret it if you don't let him walk you down the aisle," Grace spoke quietly.

Clara looked down at her Dad and then back at Grace, "you're too smart. Thank you," she smiled softly and then continued walking down to him. He was already crying. A couple of stray tears were evident on his cheeks and Clara reached up to wipe them off. "Dad I'm sorry."

"No don't be, don't. I'm just glad Danny asked me. Clara you look gorgeous, so much like your mother on the day I married her," he squeezed her hand.

Clara took a deep breath, "please don't make me cry Grace spent ages on this makeup," she chuckled softly. "Should we do this then?"

"I think we should," Dave smiled and took her arm. They walked around the corner and through some double doors. "Okay, just on the right there," Dave showed Clara the large closed doors. Grace moved to be in front as she and Liz would enter first. Once she was sure Clara was ready she knocked on the door and they were opened, revealing the grand chapel room inside.

Clara gasped, again. It looked so authentic and beautiful and… everyone was there - he'd got everyone. Most importantly though, Danny was at the end of the aisle. He was shedding a tear too, she could see the glint from where she was. He looked so handsome and very very nervous - it was cute. This was the moment she'd been waiting for, it was a long time coming, but now all that separated them from a life together was an aisle.

Music started. The first song they'd ever listened to together. He'd planned this to the very last detail. Clara walked down the aisle to the music, clinging onto her Dad's arm until the end. She reached Danny and turned to face him, letting go of Dave. Danny instinctively took her hands, "you sneaky sod," Clara giggled.

"You can beat me up later, I'm too busy taking in how gorgeous you look now," he stroked the back of her hand softly as the music faded.

The service was very traditional, just as Clara had always imagined. She and Danny struggled to look away from each other the whole time, each one just enjoying every moment. The rings were simple white gold bands with a small engraving on the inside of their wedding date and initials. Understated but beautiful. When they were officially married Danny kissed her gently, saying so much with so little. "You've just made my life," he whispered into her ear as they broke away and stepped back.

When they left down the aisle together she held his hand tight. Danny led her through the halls. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Here," Danny stopped and opened the door. The room inside was small, romantically lit with just a sofa inside. Clara looked confused. "Everyone else will go through to the reception room, but I thought you might want a moment - I didn't know how overwhelming it might all be."

"You really thought of everything, I don't know how to thank you," she sat down with him, linking their fingers in front of them and looking at their rings.

"You just married me, that's always going to be enough," he lifted their hands and kissed her ring finger.

"Noted," Clara chuckled. "Danny this really is all perfect you know? You got everything. The location, you remembered…"

"It had to be here, it always had to be. I always made a mental note of things you said if it could be useful," Danny blushed. Clara smiled and rubbed his cheek with her spare hand.

"I never thought I could be this happy," she told him, "I didn't know it was possible."

"This is just the start," he smiled and kissed her softly.

Clara didn't move away from him, keeping their foreheads touching. "I dread to think what else you're going to throw at me today," she chuckled softly. "As if my dad wasn't big enough."

"I did the right thing though? Getting him here?" Danny checked.

"Yes, definitely. I would have regretted not having him here, I'm glad you didn't listen to me on that one," she smiled.

Danny stole one more kiss before replying again. "Your dress, it's… it's stunning, absolutely perfect. Like you."

"Save your flattery," Clara chuckled and then explained, "I went to Georgie's shop, she's so good she knew exactly what to do for me. She even worked around… well, everything. We need to take photos to her after - she wants to meet you again."

"Well I look forward to it. Now, you ready for our next stop?" They both say up and Clara nodded. "Let's go then."

Danny walked through the halls with her again and into a room filled with round tables where all their friends and family were sat. Everyone started clapping and some of their colleagues were cheering. Clara and Danny both rolled their eyes but smiled gratefully as they walked to the head table where Danny's parents, her Dad and Grace were sat - even Elizabeth had her own spot even if she was fast asleep right now. They sat down and everyone returned to chatting at their tables. "Well that was intense," Clara commented.

"You deserve it, both of you," Lacey smiled at them both.

Clara hadn't seen Danny's parents in a few weeks and it suddenly occurred to her they may have been pretty involved in sorting all this, "thank you. And thank you for anything you might have done," she smiled.

"You mean you don't believe I did all this myself?" Danny looked at her with a look of shock and disappointment. Clara raised an eyebrow at him and he immediately cracked. "Yeah yeah alright just because you know me so well you cheeky sod," he grinned.

"You need someone to keep you organised or you'd never make it through," she replied, "but I do believe it was all your ideas. Nobody else knew about all our secrets."

"The best is yet to come," Frederick smiled. "But first, I think the food is arriving."

Clara looked up and spotted the waiters appearing, all carrying plates. They walked over to their table and set down the first course. "Oooo good choice," Clara told Danny as the tomato soup was set before them. They ate up and it was soon time for the second course. As it was bought out Clara clicked. "Oh my gosh you… this is the first meal you made me. The soup and now… Danny!" she had to compose herself.

"Are you crying over food?" Danny asked, laughing a little at her cuteness. "Yes it is, it's also been your favourite ever since so I figured why not?"

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," she smiled but turned into him briefly to recover a moment. Grace appeared behind her having stood up and Clara looked up from Danny's shoulder, "everything okay?"

"Yeah just going to the loo quick, gotta change this one. Are you okay?" she checked.

"The glamour of motherhood eh? I'm fine, just overwhelmed," she explained and finally sat up. "Don't be long, dinner will get cold."

"Oh I've got this down to an art," Grace grinned and left carrying Elizabeth and her bag. Clara sat back and finally had recovered enough to eat her main.

Once everyone had finished eating their main it was speech time. Not that Clara realised this until Grace stood up and got everyone's attention.

"Hello all, I appreciate this is normally the best man's job but Danny decided I was good enough for both jobs so here we are," she started. She went on to speak about Clara - including a couple of embarrassing stories (including the hen night) and how much she admired her and Danny's relationship. Clara listened and smiled, cringing just a little at the hen night details. When she'd finished Clara stood up and hugged her, quietly thanking her as she did before sitting back down. "Right, now it's time for the father of the bride!" Grace sat down and Dave stood up. Clara looked over at Grace and then Danny who both smiled reassuringly. Clara took a deep breath and turned to look at her Dad as he started.

"Clara didn't expect me to be here today. I don't think I expected to be here today for a while. I've made some bad decisions recently and, quite rightly, Clara has kept her distance from me. Well I'm hoping that today can go some way to restoring the special relationship we once had. Losing her mother had a strong impact on Clara, not all of it bad, but most of it difficult for her. The person who got her through that wasn't me, it was the man sat next to her now. The first time he came to my door I nearly punched him in the face - protective Dad you see. It took a long time for me to see he wasn't trying to corrupt my daughter and was actually the best thing to happen to her. He's always been the only one who could get through to Clara in the toughest of times and that hasn't changed. He knows her better than I doubt I ever will and that's okay, because I trust him to look after her. He's done a pretty darn good job so far. So a toast," he picked up his glass, "to the new Mr and Mrs Pink."

Everyone repeated and took a sip from their glasses. Clara stood up again and walked over to Dave. "Dad…" she started, but she didn't know what to say and instead just put her arms around him and hugged him tight. "I love you so much," she told him.

"Clara you're the most important person in my life and you always will be. I'm sorry I've not realised that recently. I love you and I'm so happy for you," he told her as they stood back. "Save those tears. Don't ruin your makeup for me," he smiled. "Now sit back down we aren't done yet." She returned to her seat and realised that Danny was now stood up.

"So most of you know Clara didn't know anything about today. Well, she knew she was getting married otherwise this might have been the weirdest proposal," that bought a chuckle as Danny started talking, "but I planned the wedding. It's been damn hard keeping secrets from the woman that can get almost anything out of me but the months of agony have paid off today. Pretty much everything I've done today from the venue through to the meal has been based on our relationship over time which was harder than it sounds, but worth it. There's still a few more surprises to come but you'll have to wait for those! But now the mushy bit…" he continued with the rest of his speech gaining multiple laughs and quite a few 'awwww' moments. Clara watched and listened in awe of him, every reason she'd married him was evident today.

When the speeches were done and everyone got back to talking she stood up herself, "I won't be long," she reassured Danny and looked to Grace who immediately knew to follow her.

"Okay?" Grace asked when they got outside. It was surprisingly warm for September so it was quite pleasant out here. "Too much?"

"No not too much. I'm okay, just needed to get away for a moment. There's a lot to take in with all of this, it's perfect, every little thing is perfect and I can't understand how I got so lucky," she explained, looking out over the view. "You know we sat just over there for about 3 hours the first time we came here. I loved the view so much I didn't want to leave. I knew one day I would be here again."

"Did you expect that to be your wedding day?" Grace asked and Clara shook her head. There was silence between the two for a moment before Grace spoke again. "You know he hasn't taken his eyes off the doors since we came out here?"

"I know," Clara smiled a little, "he's worried incase it all gets too much and my brain does it's thing again," she told her.

"He told you that?"

"He didn't have to. It's okay, he has every right to worry I don't mind. I wish he didn't have to but it's okay. I love him all the more for it."

"God I'm gonna need a vomit bowl," Grace joked.

Clara rolled her eyes, "come on let's get back inside. I suspect there's more to come," she chuckled and went in with Grace.

Time went by and after a while Danny took her hand and told her to follow him. They moved to another table in the room which had a box on it. Once they were there Danny removed the box revealing a very impressive wedding cake. Clara gasped, "it's beautiful..." The layers were pearly white with a very distinct detail to the decoration. It was classic and almost understated but it went perfectly with the theme of the day. She realised now that everyone was looking at them again. "Time to do the cutting thing then?"

They picked up the knife and cut through the bottom layer, pulling out a small slice and feeding a little to each other. "My gosh that's good," Danny grinned.

"It really is beautiful," she smiled. "We should get out the way so those people stood behind me can actually cut it now shouldn't we?" Clara asked and Danny agreed, took her hand and moved away.

"I figured we could take a little break now, just you me and a photographer in the grounds?" he checked with her.

"Sounds perfect," she smiled, grateful for the break. They got themselves together and headed outside. For awhile they just wandered, ignoring the photographer who was taking some natural snaps of them. They reached the edge of the woods and stopped, taking each others hands. Clara lent into him and kissed him gently, "it's so beautiful out here, just like I remember it."

"The weather is gorgeous isn't it? That was one thing I couldn't control so I am glad it worked out okay," he smiled. Clara kissed him again, "you're addictive you know that?" Danny whispered.

"We're being watched," Clara whispered back, "with a camera."

Danny grinned, "you're not wrong. He's looking hopeful too."

The photographer cleared his throat a little, "um, the lighting is really good here I thought we could do some posed shots."

They both giggled and nodded, focussing their attention on the camera.

#-#-#-#

The evening was coming to a close, at least everything planned was. Danny led Clara towards the dance floor and nodded to the DJ who started the song. "Guess I could've predicted the song," Clara smiled as Danny wrapped his arms around her and they started dancing together. "Our song."

"There was no other option," he smiled. "You look tired, wanna go up after this?"

"I don't want the day to end," Clara sighed, "but yeah."

The song drew to a close and they kissed softly. A more lively song came on and people started to join them on the floor. "Slip away?"

"Yeah, I'll text Grace to let her know and she can tell our parents. They're all having a good time, who am I to stop them?" she smiled, taking his hand and they managed to get out while nobody was looking. "Hey can we change and then go outside?"

"You sure? It's dark out now," Danny pointed out.

"Yeah, I want to explore. I mean without the photographer, and without a dress stopping me from running around," she grinned.

"Sounds like a plan. Come on then, just you and me for the next 36 hours," he took her hand again and they went up to change.


	24. Chapter 24

Clara grabbed Danny's hand and pulled him down one of the side corridors of the castle. "What was that-" she put her hand over his mouth and craned her neck round the corner.

"He's gone," she smiled. "Dad. I want to get out without anyone actually seeing us, this is our time."

"Or maybe you just wanted to pull me into a dark corner," Danny winked.

Clara rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand again - this time they made it outside. "It's so fresh out here, you can see all the lights of the town in the distance… it's beautiful." She walked towards the edge of the hill, "this is where we sat."

Danny shrugged the jacket he was now wearing off and put it on the ground, "we can sit again," he smiled and sat with her. Clara rested her head on his shoulder and Danny put his arms around her, kissing her head. "Was it all okay then?"

"Okay? Danny this last 24 hours have been a complete whirlwind of surprises and perfection. Everything you've done, every little detail you added made it so perfect. I can't even imagine how you've managed to do all this and I'm never asking how much this all cost, but I could not have asked for a better day," she smiled. "Plus I got through the whole thing without collapsing or randomly going blank on anyone so that's pretty good."

"Very good, you're improving all the time," he smiled and looked out at the view, "I could sit here with you forever."

"No you couldn't, you'd never quit your job," Clara chuckled.

"Neither would you," Danny pointed out.

"Fair point…"

"So okay, but if we didn't have work then I absolutely could. All this just feels so right," he told her.

Clara nodded and sat up. "Maybe one day we'll be sat here watching our children play," she said a little tentatively.

"No maybe about it," he smiled. "We will bring our children here, it'll become a family tradition."

"For now though it's just us. So… race you to the woods?" Clara quickly jumped up and started running off.

"That's cheating!" Danny called out and jumped up after her, grabbing his jacket as he stood. They both ran as fast as they could - Clara getting their first with her head start. Danny caught up as she slowed down and he put one arm around her, picking her up and spinning her around before resting her down with her back against one of the large trees and kissing her softly.

Clara smiled softly and kissed him back, "now that is cheating. Fraternising with an opponent must be against the rules," she chuckled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Fraternising huh?" he glanced both ways, "well there's nobody here to find out."

"Are you really suggesting-" Clara started to ask, but she didn't have to finish.

#-#-#-#

They woke up the next morning in the tangled sheets of the 4 poster bed in the honeymoon suite. There was a slither of light breaking through the curtain resting over them. Clara looked up when her eyes flickered open and smiled at Danny watching her. "Good morning husband."

"Good morning wife,' he kissed her softly, "you okay?"

Clara smiled and nodded as she rested back down against his chest. "It's so beautiful here," she decided to stand up, grabbing a robe from the hooks on the wall and opening the curtains. "Never thought I'd be sleeping at the top of this tower. The view is even more stunning up here, you can see for miles."

Danny climbed out of the bed and joined her, "It's perfect," he kissed her neck. "What do you want to do you today?"

"Honestly? I want to lie in here with you and pretend there's nobody else," she smiled.

"Sounds good to me," he rubbed her arm gently. "I love you."

"That's lucky," she grinned and Danny playfully hit her arm. "You love it really," she turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist, smiling innocently.

"Now that's not fair, you know that smile gets to me," he grinned and moved their foreheads together. "I missed you Friday night."

"I missed you too. Is that weird? Are we weird?"

"I don't think there's anyone doubting that," Danny grinned, "I don't think it makes us anymore weird though. I think it proves how deep our relationship is. We've spent a lot of time looking after each other recently, I think spending a night apart which didn't involve a hospital was odd. I knew I didn't have to worry about you but that didn't stop me from doing so."

Clara shut her eyes briefly, "I wish you'd never had to, but I know what you mean." She opened her eyes and looked down, linking their left hands and looking at the rings. "This is surreal."

"And yet very real. We've finally made it, took us long enough."

"I still remember that day I realised we would have to end. The day I thought this would never happen… why did you keep the engagement ring?"

"I couldn't exactly return it. And I… well I always hoped I might need it again someday. I didn't know how that was ever going to happen, but in my head I was never giving it to anyone else," he lifted her finger up and kissed the two rings. "We really are idiots aren't we?"

"Mhm, and everyone is going to hate us on Monday. As if we weren't mushy enough," she chuckled. "Come on, back to bed. Let's order room service and watch films."

"Sounds perfect to me," he smiled and allowed Clara to pull him back to bed.

#-#-#-#

They drove from the castle into work. Clara was sad to leave, but she also knew they had their honeymoon to look forward to so it was far from over. The early start was rough but she slept in the car, much to Danny's pretend disgust. Clara jumped out of the car and got her bag from the back. They walked in together, smiling and keeping their hands entwined.

"Hey you made it!" Grace appeared from her classroom, "you two have got smiles wider than my car bonnett. You enjoy yesterday then?" she asked, but then considered it, "on second thoughts - don't answer that, I don't want to know. You did a great disappearing act on Saturday though, I was impressed. I don't want to know about that either though," she grinned.

"You've had way too much caffeine," Clara observed, "Liz kept you up?"

"Teething has begun, she was up most of the night - we were all up, like a… dishevelled family mess," Grace chuckled. "Oh sorry I shouldn't-"

"Grace we're married now, I'm over it. And actually picturing James having to get up in the middle of the night to a screaming child is slightly amusing," she chuckled. "I gotta get set up, see you later," she grabbed a quick kiss from Danny and then went off into her room. Clara put her bags down and then looked up to spot Henry stood in the corner. She almost jumped, "what on earth do you want?"

"To congratulate you?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"Still bitter? You know why I couldn't have you there Henry, I'm sorry but I couldn't. You still lied to me, you still betrayed me and I just…"

"We're family Clara!"

"Then bloody act like it!" she slammed her hand down on the desk. "Get out Henry, I'm in too good a mood to deal with this today," she watched him go and then relaxed down into her chair.

Her laptop flicked on, the background popped up - a picture of the two of them from the previous Christmas. "You're smiling goofily at your laptop Miss," She looked up.

"Chelsea, you're in early - everything okay?"

"Um- yeah. Just got ready early," she shrugged. "I'll… see you later," she ran off. Clara watched her go, a little suspicious of her behaviour. She was in Danny's tutor, in fact she was an absolute genius in maths and her English grades were pretty impressive for her age too, but Clara didn't know a lot about her at all except that she was definitely late more often than she was early.. She decided it was worth investigating and stood up, walking round to Danny's room.

"Missing me already?" he stood up when Clara appeared at the door and walked over, glancing left and right before slipping his arms around her.

Shutting the door first Clara returned the gesture and kissed him gently before shaking her head and stepping back. "No you're too distracting Danny! I'm here about one of your tutees - Chelsea Grainger?"

"Ah my maths wizz. Is she okay?" Danny asked, leaning against his desk now.

Clara made a slightly confused face, "I'm not really sure. Have you noticed a change in her behaviour since the summer?"

"She's been a little quiet I suppose, but they generally are in September. Oh and she hasn't been late yet either!" he chuckled, but Clara didn't. "What's on your mind?"

"She just walked by my room. I don't think I've ever known her to be this early and she was very cagey when I asked her for more information. Something doesn't feel right to me. I might just be reading something into nothing but-"

"Clara you have the best instinct of any teacher in this building, I believe you. I'll speak to her this morning and catch you up later okay?" he reassured her and she nodded. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah of course," she smiled again, "not going to let this ruin my mood. I'd better get back, thank you."

#-#-#-#

When his tutor walked in Danny clocked Chelsea walk over to her usual seat and sit down. Clara was right, she already didn't seem her usual self. He decided to get the register done first and speak to her after allowing him more time to decide how to take this.

Once he'd confirmed the class were all in he told them to do any homework they had leftover and asked Chelsea to step outside with him which she did, reluctantly. "Sir you have ring on," she said as soon as he shut the door.

"Well observed. I hear you were in early today,"

"Your fiancée has been gossiping," she rolled her eyes.

"I have a ring on," he pointed out.

"Oh, wife. Whatever - she's been gossiping." Chelsea rolled her eyes.

"Alright let's fix the attitude shall we? Miss Oswald is simply concerned about you, she said you were off with her earlier."

"Surely it's Mrs Pink now?" Chelsea smirked.

"She hasn't decided what to call herself at work yet and for goodness sake keep that quiet. And stop changing the topic. Is something going on at home?"

Chelsea turned defensive, "what is it with people poking into my private life at the moment?! Geez give me a break. I'm still alive, I'm getting good grades, isn't anything else more than your jobs worth? I'm going back in," she told him and went back into class, opening and closing the door harder than necessary leaving Danny outside the classroom. He sighed - Clara was right and something was definitely going on, but it wasn't going to be easy to get to the bottom of.

#-#-#-#

Chelsea's on her way to English, something's definitely up. Could you try and work your magic?

Clara felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and checked the message. Another one quickly followed.

PS. I miss you, counting down the weeks till our honeymoon x

She smiled and typed a quick reply.

Miss you too, I'll do my best x

Clara put her phone away when the students started to arrive and moved to get the board set up for them. She kept an eye out and when Chelsea walked in she intercepted her, "can I have a quick word?"

"No," Chelsea quickly replied and moved around her.

"I wasn't asking," Clara turned around as she walked by.

"Yes you were, that was a question. I answered. I'm here to study shakespeare not to be interrogated by you and your husband," Chelsea slumped down in her chair. "What?" she reacted to Clara's shocked face. "You're both wearing rings you're not exactly trying to hide it. By the way what are we meant to call you now because your husband doesn't know?"

"Miss Oswald for now. Now, can you please step outside so I can talk to you Chelsea."

"You're wasting valuable lesson time Miss Oswald," Chelsea argued back. Clara sighed and took a deep breath.

"Alright, cooler room now please," Clara turned more stern. Chelsea didn't move. "Right now!" She finally grabbed her bag and walked out. Clara turned back to the rest of the class. "Show's over you lot, sit down and get your books out - I'll be back in a moment." She walked out, thankfully finding Helen. "Ah, hi, could you watch my class for a bit? They're doing the Much Ado activity in the workbooks today…"

"No problem, you alright?"

"Fine, just need to deal with a student. Have you seen David today by the way?"

"He called in sick-"

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Clara ran a hand through her hair.

"Relax! It's dealt with, I sorted it so you didn't have to. Now go do what you need to do," Helen smiled and went into Clara's class and she walked on to the cooler room.

One of the science teachers was sat in on duty there. Clara walked over and told him she would deal with it and he left. "Haven't you got a class to teach?"

"I got cover. It's just you and me Chelsea, what's going on?" she asked.

"You're doing my head in," she shrugged, throwing her bag down and sitting down, staring out the window. "Why does everyone think something is wrong?"

"You're not yourself, far from it. The worst you ever are is late but your work and behaviour today is shocking - and you were early. We have good instincts Chelsea - I see hundreds of kids everyday."

"Yeah so how do you know me from everyone else?" she shrugged.

"Apparently it's one of my strengths. So what are you trying to avoid talking about Chelsea?" she leant on the desk behind her and crossed her arms. "You're not in trouble, I'm worried about you."

"Well don't, I'm fine," she replied, hiding her face.

"You're crying," Clara replied and moved off her perch, crouching down beside her chair. "Let me help you. Please," she spoke a little softer now. Chelsea wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. "Is it something at home?" There was a small pause but she nodded. Something dawned on Clara, "do you have any siblings Chelsea?"

"Sister, she's 7," she got out.

"Have you been looking after her? Is that why you're usually late?" Clara asked. Why hadn't she thought about this earlier?

Chelsea nodded, "I have to take her to school," she answered.

"How come you were early today?" Clara questioned but that set her off again. "Chelsea what's happened?"

"Gran took her away, Mum and Dad didn't even stop her and she won't let me see her. I've always looked after her it's not fair," she broke down and immediately sought comfort from her teacher.

Clara hugged her carefully to give a bit of reassurance. "Why did your Gran take her away?" Chelsea didn't reply. Clara sat back and made eye contact, "why were you looking after her?"

"Mum and Dad they… they couldn't…" she started to panic, her breathing rate rising.

There was water on the table so Clara went and grabbed the unopened bottle and took it to her, "deep breaths, it's alright. Cup your hands over your mouth and breathe - I've got water if you want it. It's okay, we don't need to talk anymore now, just get yourself together. You've clearly been going through a lot but you've got support now from me and Mr Pink okay? We'll take this one step at a time."

It took her a few minutes to calm down but Clara waited with her. "I'm really sorry Miss," she finally spoke again. "I'm didn't mean to be so horrible I'm just- I miss Keelie."

"I know, I understand this must be really hard for you and I want to help you I promise."

"You'll get them involved… you'll get social involved and they'll take her and I'll never see her again," Chelsea looked down at the floor. "I can't."

"Hey, look at me. Come on - then you'll know I'm not lying," she waited for her student to look up before continuing, "I'm here for you, whatever I can do I will. You know I have a duty to inform social services when I feel necessary and given what I've heard so far then I suppose it is likely, but I will still be here for you whatever happens. This will all be much easier if I know what's going on sweetheart, I promise. Do you trust me?"

"I'm scared," Chelsea replied, "but I think so. Everyone always says you're the one to talk to."

"So that's why I never get any peace…" Clara muttered just loud enough for Chelsea to hear but then smiled. "Don't be silly, it's part of the job and I guess I'm good at it. So now we've clarified that, why don't we find somewhere a little more comfy to talk?"

Clara took her into the pastoral care room and made them both a cup of tea, sitting down on the chair adjacent to the sofa that Chelsea had sat down on. "My parents. They…" she took a deep breath, "they don't really look after us. As long as I can remember I've been caring for myself and then when Keelie came along her too. I never thought anything of it, I just kept going. I made sure we both looked smart, kept clean and fed. Always made sure Keelie did her homework and kept up with mine - we did it together every night."

"Sounds like you did a great job. Can I ask why your parents didn't look after you? I know you're scared, but I need to know. It'll make this a lot easier I promise," Clara told her.

"They just don't. They could if they wanted, but they don't."

That was what Clara was afraid of hearing. If they were ill that was one thing, but this didn't sound good. "Why not?"

Silence. Chelsea sipped her tea, clearly looking very nervous. Clara had her suspicions.

"Are there drugs involved Chelsea?" she asked. The student nodded, tears starting to break through her barriers. "Alright, that's good that's all I need to know for now alright?"

"No, no it's… it's not everything," Chelsea was shaking now. Clara took her tea mug out of her hands and put it down. After a couple of deep breaths Chelsea carefully unticked the side of her blouse and lifted it up to show a bruise on her side. "I need to get away from them Miss, but I'm so so scared."

"Oh sweetheart, okay you can put it away. Do you have any pain?"

"I take painkillers. It doesn't hurt now."

"Alright, are you okay to wait here while I go and speak to someone? You're safe now. We'll get you and Keelie both sorted." Clara placed a hand on her knee reassuringly and then stood up, going out.

Thankfully Danny was on a prep session so she knew he'd be in his room. She went in and shut the door. "It's bigger than we thought," she sighed, leaning against his desk. "She's been looking after her younger sister. That's why she was always late because she took her to school. Apparently her Gran has taken Keelie away because her parents aren't looking after her."

"So why Keelie and not Chelsea?" he asked.

"No idea, but Chelsea is distraught. It seems she's been looking after herself for most of her life and her sister for all of hers. They must be very close and now she can't see her. She disclosed that there are drugs involved with her parents and…" Clara walked over to the window, needing to take a deep breath, "she showed me bruises on her side. They don't all look recent."

Danny walked over to her, "we need to call social. Do you want me to speak to Priya?" Priya was the school's safeguarding officer.

"Please, I want to get back to Chelsea. She's really upset, but I think she trusts me and I need to be there through this. Helen's covering my lesson."

Danny stood up and took Clara's hand briefly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just can't believe we didn't spot it sooner. All the signs were there but she did such a good job of making it look so normal…" Clara sighed. "Poor girl hasn't had a childhood."

"Hey, we can help now. You're doing a wonderful job. We will get this sorted I promise,' he kissed her head softly.

Clara nodded and smiled gently, letting go and making her way back to Chelsea.

"What will happen now miss?" she asked as soon as Clara came back in.

Clara sat down in the chair she'd been in previously. "Mr Pink is going to speak to Miss Chaudhry now. She will probably want to speak to you as well, and she'll call social services. You're right Chelsea, you need to get out of there."

"I thought you were going to do everything…" she sounded nervous.

"I will be here for everything, but Miss Chaudhry is employed for these situations. She knows what to do. I promise I'll be here though, don't worry. Can I ask you a couple more questions?" Clara asked and Chelsea nodded. "Your Gran, why did she take Keelie but not you?"

"She thinks I'm like them," Chelsea looked down into her now empty mug.

"Your parents?" Clara asked. Another confirmation came.

"I hate them, I hate what they do. I hate those chemicals they put in their body. I'd never touch it!" she got more worked up.

Clara moved now to sit on the sofa with her, "relax, I believe you. They will probably check that, they might take some blood just to be sure, but I believe you. Do you think your Gran is looking after Keelie?"

Chelsea had to think about that. "Probably, but I don't know. We've never really seen her or spent much time with her, so I don't know."

"Alright, well done. We don't need to talk about that anymore," Clara smiled. "Did you want more tea?"

"No, I try not to have too much. The caffeine is addictive," she spoke quietly.

Clara chuckled softly, "wow you do look after yourself don't you? I'm very impressed. Tell you what I do have…" she stood up and walked over to the cupboards, pulling out a box from the back. "Secret biscuit stash - no telling." Clara smiled and took the box over, letting her choose.

"Secret's safe with me. Thanks miss," she smiled a little and took one. "Don't you have classes to teach?"

"Yeah, but for now I'm needed here. I'm not teaching next period anyway and I'll deal with after break if I need to. So what did you want to talk about while we wait then?"

"Did you get married at the weekend?" Chelsea asked. Clara rolled her eyes a little, "what? I'm just confused why you'd get married and immediately come back to work."

"Because we're slightly odd," Clara chuckled. "We're doing our honeymoon at Christmas. We have good reasons I promise," she explained.

"Was it good? The wedding?"

"Wonderful. Absolutely perfect," she smiled. "The whole day was a complete surprise to me, couldn't have asked for more."

"Well that's kinda mushy but cute I guess. Did Mr Pink organise it because you were ill?"

"You know a lot for a kid who doesn't speak much," Clara replied. "No, but it did help in the end."

"Are you better now?" Chelsea asked, "I couldn't work out what was wrong. You were off for ages, English lessons were really dull."

Clara chuckled, "it was very complicated. Nothing for you to worry about, but I am a lot better thank you."

"Good, don't want you disappearing again - I want good grades," she grinned.

"Oh I'm sure you'd do well without me. The very fact you've got such good grades despite everything tells me you have a fantastic mind Chelsea. You have plans for the future?" Clara asked.

Chelsea nodded, "I want to be a detective so I can stop people like my parents," she explained. "Maybe I can help kids like my sister too."

"That sounds like a great plan, good for you," she smiled. The door opened after that and Priya came in with Danny. Clara stood up and walked over to them, speaking quietly. "Where we at?"

"Social are on their way, I've been in contact with the sister's school and consequently her grandmother who has, maybe reluctantly, agreed to come in. My concern with her is that she didn't inform social about this situation at all. They were completely unaware of the family," Priya explained.

Clara shook her head, "she did a damn good job of looking after Keelie and herself, and her parents clearly do a good job of hiding whatever they do. Okay, you want to talk to her?"

"No I'll wait for social, she doesn't need anymore questioning you've done a good job. Are you okay to stay? She seems to trust you."

"Of course, text me when they arrive and I'll come out," Clara smiled gratefully and Priya left again. "You have a lesson in 10," Clara reminded Danny.

"I do. Everything okay in here?" he asked, letting the tips of their fingers touch as they hung by their sides. Clara smiled.

"Can you two get a room?" Chelsea perked up from behind them. Clara chuckled, turning around. "Seriously, just because I know you're married doesn't mean I want to see this."

"Sorry, all is good here, you get back. I'll update you," she told Danny and walked back over to Chelsea. "We got some time to fill, what do you want to do?"

"English?" Clara looked surprised, "got to keep my grades up after all. Can you show me what we were going to do today?"

"Sure, grab your book."

Clara sat back while she got her bag sorted. This was going to be a longer day than she first thought, but this girl was worth it.


	25. Chapter 25

Social services arrived around lunchtime. Clara had reorganised her day and managed to get all her lessons covered so she could stick with Chelsea. They wanted to speak to Clara and Danny alone first so Chelsea went to go and get lunch. The two teachers did their best to explain what they knew to the social worker in as much detail as possible.

"This is a good spot, she's clearly been hiding this very well to escape everyone's notice for so long. Obviously there's no way we can send her back home now, but you say her sister is with a grandma?" the social worker - Danielle - questioned.

"Yes, but something doesn't feel right about that. Her Gran took Keelie but not Chelsea, and she knew what was going on all this time and did nothing? I'm not sure I trust her," Clara sighed.

"Do we have any indication that Keelie was ever hurt?" she kept making notes.

"No, Chelsea said she took everything for her. She's done literally everything for her sister and kept her grades up at school, it's kind of impressive in it's own way - but can't continue obviously," Clara told her.

"Alright, thank you. I need to make a few phone calls before I speak to Chelsea," Danielle put the lid on her pen. "Maybe 30 minutes?"

"I'll bring her back then. You can use this office, are you alright if we leave you?" Clara just checked.

"Sure, I've got your number from earlier so I'll ring if there's an issue."

Danny and Clara left the room and started to head towards the canteen. "This is horrible," she sighed, "you spoke to all the relevant people didn't you?"

"Yeah, but Priya is sorting most of it. It's quite good she's left this to us though - Chelsea trusts you," Danny smiled as they walked into the canteen. "She's in the corner there, not with her friends…"

"I'll go," she let go of his hand that she hadn't even realised she had taken until now and walked over to where Chelsea was sat playing with the food on her plate. "You need to eat that."

"You need to eat," Chelsea replied, pointing out the empty space in front of where she'd just sat down.

"Nice try, I have someone to get my food for me," she grinned. "How you bearing up?"

"I don't know, is Keelie coming with Gran?"

"Yes, social services need to talk to them both," Chelsea nodded. "You not pleased about that?"

She shrugged, "I want to see her but I bet Gran won't let me. Plus she'll have to answer loads of questions and it's not fair."

"Well your Gran will have to speak to social services alone for a while," Clara pointed out. "I guess I'll look after Keelie…"

"So I can see her?" Suddenly she lit up.

"Absolutely," Clara told her. "Now eat up, I'll be back shortly."

She met up with Danny and sat down, "thanks for getting this. Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm alright, just wish I'd caught it before now," he told her. "I know she hid it well, just such a shame."

Clara nodded, "yeah, everyone missed it."

#-#-#-#

"Chelsea!" the younger girl ran for her sister and hugged her so tight. Clara watched on as her student held her sister protectively. "Can I come home now? I miss you and I hate it at Gran's."

"You hated it at home Keelie, at least Gran can look after you," Chelsea tried, although Clara could tell that's not what she wanted to say.

"At least you're there. I have nobody at Gran's, I can't talk to her and she doesn't really care she just wants to make Mum angry, that's why she took me away."

Chelsea stood back, keeping one hand on each of Keelie's shoulders and looking at her. "Please tell me she's been looking after you properly?"

The younger girl shrugged, "she cooks and stuff but I don't get to play or go out, I'm always stuck inside."

"Did you tell that lady about it? What you just told me?" Chelsea asked. Keelie had spoken to Danielle before she'd come into see her. Keelie nodded and Chelsea hugged her again, "good girl. You've been really brave. I'm so proud of you."

"Can you help me with my maths? It's in my bag and I couldn't do it but Gran wouldn't help," Keelie sighed.

"Of course I can! Come on, sit down let's have a look," Clara smiled and watched them sit down. She pulled her phone out and text Danny.

 _I've got Keelie in here now, Chelsea is amazing with her, I mean really amazing. This girl knows how to look after her sister Danny, we need to make sure they don't get split up._

Danny was back in his lesson so she knew he wouldn't reply immediately, but Clara needed options and for that she needed to brainstorm - Danny usually got her ramblings when she was doing so.

"I never gave you permission to be here Keelie!" The girl's gran came in. Clara stood up from where she'd been trying to get some marking done. "You bought her in here?!" she addressed Clara.

"Yes, I did. You didn't ask me not to and they wanted to see each other. I've been in here the whole time and all they've done is homework so I really don't think there's a problem here," Clara told her sternly. She spotted Chelsea in the background looking a little amused at her teacher going strict on her Gran.

The older woman seemed a little shocked, "yes well, I'll take her elsewhere now."

"I believe you have to stay here for the moment, and there's nowhere else for you to wait. Chels why don't you come with me for a moment?" she didn't want any problems right now. Chelsea nodded and followed her out. "You're really good with your sister."

"Years of practice," Chelsea smiled, "I miss helping her with homework, forgot how clever she is."

"She sounds very bright to me," Clara told her. "Alright you want to wait here and I'll go and speak to Danielle," she let her know, going inside the room. "Hi, how did it go with them?"

Danielle finished writing something and looked up, her face not looking too happy. "I don't think we can give the grandmother custody of either of them. The impression I get is that she isn't doing this for the right reasons."

"I agree, there's no reason for her not to let the girls see each other. Any luck with the parents?" Clara asked, sitting down.

"My colleagues went round and it got a bit messy to put it politely. The police have been phoned, on the evidence we've got I believe charges are being bought, but I'll catch up on that later. I'm afraid that we are going to have to place them somewhere tonight, I'm going to try really hard to get emergency foster care together, but that won't be easy," she explained.

Clara nodded, she knew it was never simple. "This is never straight forward, I've seen it before, but usually the children are difficult, have behavioural issues, but these two… surely that will go some way towards helping them?"

"Maybe yes, like I say I will do the very best I can. I need to make a good few phone calls now, am I still okay to stay here? I know it's the normal procedure but I want to give it as long as I can before I take them anywhere to ensure I manage the best options - you're right, they deserve much better than I can currently give them. Once I have options in place I'll speak to the grandmother. Can you-"

"On it, don't worry. Thank you," Clara smiled grateful and went off back to her room, taking Chelsea with her. On the way she grabbed Priya and explained what was going on, knowing she really needed her in on this.

School ended, time was running out and Clara was becoming more anxious as time passed by. Danny appeared at the door and Clara whispered to Priya that she'd be back, stepping outside. "So?"

"No more than what I text you. Priya and I have just been trying to control the situation in there all afternoon. Honestly I get bad feelings from that woman and clearly I'm not wrong."

"The girls aren't going back with her then I take it?"

"No chance. Danielle did a bit of digging and there's no way she's fit to look after them," she sighed. "It's so unfair Danny, I just hope they can find someone who will take them together because I don't think either of them will react well if they don't." Clara sighed and leant into him. "I'm so worried."

Danny rubbed her back, "you're doing amazing Mrs Pink," he kissed her head. Clara smiled a little at the name.

A small cough brought them back to earth and stepped back slightly. Danielle was stood waiting. "Oh gosh I am sorry," Clara could feel herself getting a little red.

"Oh don't worry, Chelsea told me that you two got married. Anyway, I have good news - I found a couple that will take them both for emergency foster care. They're new to the system, I wasn't sure they'd be so keen to take emergency cases so soon but when I explained they were happy to. They're coming over here now along with my boss so we can get everything sorted. I need to speak to them now, would you mind being there?"

It took a while to get everything sorted, it wasn't straightforward and the fact they'd decided to keep everything at the school did complicate it all, but it was the right decision. It was far beyond closing time and Danny, Clara, Priya and Arthur were the only staff left in the building. When everything was explained the girl's grandmother stormed out, but actually didn't seem the least bit bothered. Keelie seemed scared, but Chelsea was quick to reassure her - although Clara spotted her nerves.

Time kept passing but eventually everything was completed on both sides. "Clara, sorry I just wanted to speak to you outside for a moment?" Danielle grabbed her. Clara stood up and went out of the room. "I was hoping you would just speak to the foster couple? You know more than the rest of us how Chelsea is and it might just help before they go in. This has all been a little unconventional so we might as well keep that up."

"Absolutely, no problem. Are they in the pastoral office?" she checked and headed that way when she had confirmation. Clara walked in the door and immediately stopped. "Well these are not the faces I expected to see! When on earth did you move down here?"

"Clara Oswald? Well well what a surprise! You're the teacher?"

"Sorry I'm confused?" the male of the two looked between the two females.

"Oh! Yes, sorry you probably don't have a clue who I am, I've just seen you on Facebook. Power of social media hey?" Clara chuckled, "Via and I were really close friends when I lived in Blackpool, we were penpals for a long time after until the internet took over. It's been a while since we spoke properly. When did you move here?"

"It's a long story, but basically we ran away, got married and moved here," she chuckled.

"You got married?! Blimey, I did wonder if it would ever happen. Wait how did I not know about this?"

"We kept it all pretty quiet, it's complicated, but all good reasons I promise - just needed a fresh start," Via smiled. "Wow it's so so good to see you," she hugged her.

Clara returned the gesture, "been too long huh? But I guess we should save the catch up for another time. You need to know about Chels and Keelie."

"It sounds like they've been through a lot?" her husband John asked.

"More than any of us know, but I've never seen kids so strong. Chelsea has looked after Keelie her whole life, she's looked after herself most of her life. Despite all that her grades are amazing - she's a complete maths wiz which is even more crazy when you know her background," Clara still couldn't quite believe it.

"Well John does… something with numbers, apparently he's pretty good at it so I guess that will work out well. I'll supervise, obviously." Via chuckled.

"Sounds good, you want to meet them? I explained what's going to happen I think they're okay with it actually. I think they're just glad to get out." Clara explained.

They all went back to Clara's room and she went in first, nodding to Danielle and her colleague who were sat in with the girls. They stood up and walked over, taking over with Via and John to explain the next step while Clara went over to Chelsea. "How you doing?"

"Is that them?" Chelsea ignored the question for now, her attention on Via and John. "They look nice. But then everyone looks nice when you've had my parents."

"I'll let you into a secret - I actually went to school with Via, we were best friends for years. She looked after me then and I'm sure she will look after you too. Plus from what I hear John is a bit of a maths geek too - I think you'll like it there," Clara told her.

Keelie looked up from what she was doing now, "I'm happy, we're finally getting out of home. Thank you for helping us."

Clara smiled, "no problem sweetheart, you enjoy it."

At that point Via and John sat down at the table with them. Danielle and her colleague went through everything they need to and Clara watched on. After a while, once everyone was comfortable it was time for them to head to off. They were just leaving when Chelsea ran back in and up to Clara, "thank you, you've saved us. I didn't realise I'd be this happy to get away."

"Look after yourself Chels, I'll see you tomorrow," she told her and Chelsea smiled, running off. Danny let her out before coming back into the room. Clara walked over and leant into him, letting out a big breath. "Not sure I've come across someone so happy to go into care…"

"They've had a long time to fall out of love with their parents, anything is better than that," Danny told her. Come on, it's late and I'm starving - let's get takeaway on the way back."

#-#-#-#

The next morning Clara woke and found Danny was already up. She jumped in the shower and got dressed, going down to find him at the table. "You're keen, what's up?"

"Why does something have to be up?" he asked, not looking up.

"You're up early, you haven't made tea and mostly you haven't immediately asked if I'm okay - something's on your mind. You look tired, you didn't sleep." Clara stuck the kettle on. "Talk."

"I can't help thinking I should have spotted what was going on. I've been that girl's tutor for over 2 years, how did I miss any sign?" Danny sighed and looked up. "I just can't stop thinking about it."

"Well stop thinking about it Danny, we got them out. You've given that girl a lot of support with her maths and I think that meant more to her than you ever realised. She trusted me because she already trusted you Danny, that was the most important part to getting through to her," she kissed him before sorting out the tea. "All will be fine."

#-#-#-#

A week passed, things seemed to be going okay - Chelsea was really positive and Clara kept in touch with Via. Today however something wasn't right. Clara and Danny were stood outside the main doors when Chelsea arrived, running by them. It was early, really early in fact - she was the first student in. Clara and Danny shared a look, "you go. I'll phone Via." Clara told him, pulling out her phone. She didn't have to make the call, Via was already calling her. "Hey, what's happened?"

"We argued this morning, she ran out. Is she with you?" she sounded stressed.

"Yes, yeah. Well, Danny went after her. She's here. Is Keelie alright? What's upset her so much everything seemed to be going so well?" Clara asked, making her way inside now it was getting a little cold.

"Keelie's fine. Well, she's a little upset over the argument but John distracted her for now. Can I come to you?" Via asked.

"Sure, come over now."

Clara hung up and went in to find Danny who had managed to get Chelsea into his room. He came over to her, "she's really upset, but I can't get it out of her. Fancy working your magic?"

"Sure, Via is coming down can you meet her at the door? And let Arthur know what's going on?" Danny nodded and left.

Clara sat beside Chelsea who had her head in her hands, crying softly. "Via said you argued this morning?" Chelsea shrugged. "What caused it?" She shrugged again. "You need to talk Chels."

"No I don't," she snapped. Clara sighed, this was very out of character. She noted that Via had arrived at the door so stepped outside. "She won't talk, what's happened?"

"She slept in a little this morning, I let her - thought the rest would be good for her so I helped Keelie this morning. When I went to wake her she got mad that I got Keelie up... I don't get it, I thought I was helping," Via sighed.

Clara nodded and looked back into the classroom at Chelsea. "She's looked after Keelie everyday for 7 years, it's her life. She's taken her to school, helped with her homework, fed her, clothed her - she's done everything for 7 years. I suspect she is struggling to let go of that."

"I should have thought," Via shook her head.

"No it's okay, you're new to the teenager thing - it's a tough one. Come on, let's go and speak to her," Clara let Via go in first and followed, watching as she sat down opposite Chelsea.

Clara stayed back for a moment, letting Via take control. "Chels I'm sorry, I should have realised how much looking after Keelie means to you."

Chelsea took a deep breath and looked up, "I shouldn't have got mad. I'm just so used to protecting her from everyone. Nobody else has ever looked out for Keelie before, she's only had me."

"That's not true anymore, you both have us. You don't have to take all that responsibility now - it's time for you to enjoy being a kid," Via told her.

"I'm not sure I know how," she looked down, almost scared. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to let you down."

Clara was about to step in but Via held a hand out to stop her, "hey nobody is going to hurt you now, thank you for apologising. I think we can work on teaching you to enjoy being a kid too, I'll come up with some ideas. For now though, you want to come home and let Keelie know everything is okay quickly?"

Just as she was about to stand up and agree Chelsea stopped, "no, no you can tell her it's okay. If she needs me she can ring quick but I think she trusts you already."

Via smiled, "that's really mature of you, well done. See you later - have a good day."

Clara said goodbye quickly and let her friend go, "you can go too, go see your friends. Have they all been okay with the situation?"

"They've been great, thank you for all your help. I'm sorry I've caused you so much trouble after your wedding," Chelsea stood up with her bag. "I'll try and give you a little more peace."

"Hey you hassle me as much as you like. See you later kid," Clara smiled. Just after she left Danny reappeared. "You always miss the action don't you? It's all sorted anyway."

"Good, because I really need tea." Clara chuckled and they went off.

#-#-#-#

When she reached third lesson Clara had to go and observe David once more. The most recent lessons had been more promising, she hoped they were finally making progress, but today when she walked in he immediately looked angry. "Good morning to you too."

"This is getting ridiculous now," David told her.

"Yeah well you know what the arrangement is. It's hardly my favourite moment of the day," Clara sat down at the back. "Do you want a hand with set up?"

"I can handle it," David tutted.

"I never said you couldn't David I'm just offering a hand, it's a human thing," she told him but didn't move as requested. "Why are you trying so hard to fight me?"

"Why are you so obsessed about watching my lessons?" he seethed a little.

"You just don't understand it do you? I don't know where you worked before but here we care about our students, we go out of our way to help them if necessary. This isn't the most well off area of London as I'm sure you've gathered but they're a good lot and they deserve our support. So far David you're really not trying to fit in here, and until you do I have to be in here. This isn't for my benefit, not even for Arthur's - this is for those kids out there," she gestured to the corridor. "For some of them this is the only place they get shown they're important - this past week has shown me how seriously some of them take that little gesture of hope they get from us. If you can't give them that, you can't teach here."

David kept walking round putting books on tables, "we can't all be saints Clara."

"I'm not asking you to be a saint. I'm not asking you to do even half of what I sign myself up for. I'm just asking you to try a little to engage with your students - talk to them and not at them, spot when they're struggling," Clara explained and stood up. "Once I see you trying, you'll never have me sat in here again and we can both get back to our jobs." She took the pile of worksheets he was holding without asking and started handing them out. "They're waiting, go let them in while I put these out."

David didn't respond to her comments and instead went to open the door to his classroom and let them on. Clara watched from the corner of her eye as he, for the first time, spoke to the students as they walked in. She looked away and smiled a little in achievement, sitting down at the back once more. Maybe she had finally made a breakthrough with this guy.

#-#-#-#

"Hey you've got a smile on, been a good day?" Danny stood in her doorway at the end of the day. Clara nodded, picking up her bags.

"Finally making progress with David, Chelsea is settling and each day is a day closer to two weeks away with you, what could be better?" she smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you, I'm sorry the first week of married life has just involved my stresses."

"I think the first week of married life has actually proved just how perfect we are together - the A team," Danny kissed her head, "come on, let's get home and enjoy Monday evening."

"Can Monday evening ever truly be enjoyed?" Clara grinned and took his hand. "Alright, let's spend it in bed."


	26. Chapter 26

The knock at her door came as a bit of a shock given it was about an hour after school had finished. She'd stayed back to catch up on a few bits while Danny was having a meeting. She didn't need to look up or invite anyone in because in a few short seconds the door was open and Chelsea ran in. "Miss help," she was out of breath - definitely run from wherever she was. Clara looked up and immediately got up to get a chair out for her.

"Sit, catch your breath, tell me what's going on," she told her, sitting opposite. Chelsea handed her a piece of paper which Clara took and read. "Oh…"

"They want me to go to court- they want me to- I can't do it, I can't," she was still struggling to get her words out.

"Alright, one step at a time okay? You've just come from Via and John's?" she asked and Chelsea nodded. "Right they're going to be worried, let me just-" before she finished the sentence her phone buzzed on the table. "Too late. You just get yourself together alright?" Clara grabbed her phone and left the room. "She's here. Did you see the letter?"

"I didn't read it, but I saw the envelope - they've asked her to testify haven't they?" Via sounded immediately relieved.

"Yes. It's unfair, surely they can't make her stand there…" Clara sighed, "can you speak to Danielle and see if they can do it through video link or something?"

"Of course, I'll try and get hold of her now - sooner the better. Are you okay to sit with Chelsea? I'll be down as soon as I finish on the phone."

"No problem. See you soon," Clara told her and hung up, going back in. Chelsea seemed a little calmer now with her breathing slightly better too. "Via's coming in, but she's going to speak to Danielle first. We're going to find out if you need to be there in person. I can't make any promises but sometimes they'll let you do a video link so you don't have to be in the room."

Chelsea looked up, "so I wouldn't have to see them?"

"No, the only people you would see would be the people asking the questions. It still won't be easy, I can't tell you it will be, but you wouldn't be in the room with your parents," Clara explained. "But we can't promise it will happen, it's something we are exploring. It's something Via is exploring - you should try talking to her about these things sometime you know?"

"I know, I- I think I'm scared of getting too attached," she looked back down. "I don't know how I'm meant to be with them, I've never really felt like I had parents, not like I had people at home to talk to… it's new," Chelsea explained.

Nodding, Clara decided to try a new path, "how's Keelie settling?"

"Really good, she gets on really well with Via and they're both really good with her. They're really good with both of us it's just… I'm resisting, I guess. I don't mean to, my instinct was just to run," she sighed. "I should apologise."

"You should, but they won't be angry with you Chels - they understand," she told her. Her phone buzzed. "Via's outside, I'll just go let her in."

Clara ran off down the corridor and opened the door, "come on in. How did it go with Danielle?"

"Really good. She needs to speak to the right people but she's pretty sure they'll go with the video link," she smiled. "How is she?"

"Okay, she's a little upset that she might have let you down by not coming to you. I don't think she knows how to react now she's living with someone who cares for her?" Clara explained. "You're doing a great job, she's admitted that herself."

"Just wish I could do more you know?" Via told her.

Clara rolled her eyes, "always were a perfectionist eh? Don't worry, it's still early days. I can tell she does trust you, she's just too scared to admit it." They arrived at her room and Clara opened the door. "You go in, I'm going to go and speak to Danny - his meeting will just be finishing."

Via thanked her and went inside, "hey kid, how you doing?"

Chelsea shrugged, "I don't know, I'm sorry for running away. I'm really scared of doing this, but I want them to go away. Keelie needs to know they're locked up then she might sleep better."

"And so will you. It's okay to admit how you feel Chels, you've been through so much and you've had no support but now you've got us so talk to me," Via placed a hand on her knee and Chelsea looked up, "you can tell me anything."

There were tears in her eyes, "I've never felt like I've had anyone before. I've always been the one who has to do everything it's really hard to relinquish that. I don't want to let you down, I don't want to let Keelie down either. She finally has a chance to be a kid again."

"So do you, you're not that old! When was the last time you went out with your friends?" Chelsea bit her lip, "I didn't think you had. Well now you can, you both can."

"I don't even know how to do all this, I feel like I've been a grown up all my life," she shrugged.

"Well that ends now. I mean, you can still be well behaved that would be grand," Chelsea chuckled, "but enjoy yourself a bit more."

"Thank you, really - thank you," Chelsea reached over and hugged her. Via smiled and returned the gesture. "Can we go home now?"

"Sure we can," Via stood up, holding a hand out which Chelsea took.

Clara reappeared, "all good?"

"Yeah, thanks miss. I really appreciate it," she smiled. Via mouthed a thank you and went off with Chelsea.

#-#-#-#

When the weekend arrived and they'd arrived back at home Clara collapsed on the sofa, rubbing her head. Danny made tea and took it in, handing a mug to her and sitting down. "You look knackered."

"Long week," she shrugged.

"You're taking on too much," Danny spoke but Clara glared at him. "Look at me like that all you like, it's still true. You deserve a break."

"It's half term next week so I think you'll find I have a whole week's break actually," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Don't get cheeky with me. I know full well you're going in for at least 2 revision sessions and you will definitely be visiting Via to check up on Chelsea as well as going to see Grace" he pointed out.

"That leaves me with a whole spare day I think you'll find," she sipped her tea.

"You're going to make yourself ill Clara. please slow down," he almost begged her. "I've seen this happen before, I can't see it happen again."

Clara put her mug down, suddenly realising he was serious. "Danny it won't happen again," she took his hand, "I've already arranged to go to Grace's after the revision session on Monday and Via's after the one on Wednesday. The rest of the week is all for you, us, we can do whatever you want. You should come to Via's too, her and John really want to meet you properly. I'm going to catch up with them more than anything I promise."

It took a moment, but Danny finally seemed to relax, "sorry, you know I just worry. I'd love to meet them, of course I would."

"I'll let them know you'll come. Now can we finish this tea and open the wine?" she asked.

"Sounds perfect," Danny smiled.

#-#-#-#

Monday morning was spent at school with her year 10 revision group before she went off to Grace's. "Hello Mrs Pink," Grace grinned as she answered the door.

"That is still weird. I haven't changed my name at school yet… not sure if I will either. Just for work obviously, I changed it officially," Clara replied. Grace raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're rambling, get in the house for goodness sake," she chuckled and Clara finally went in so she could shut the door. "Lizzie is sleeping at the moment so you have good timing. Tea?"

"Stupid question," Clara smiled, "thank you."

"On it. I got a few bits in for lunch in the fridge could you grab?" Grace asked and Clara did as asked. "How are you doing?"

"Good, lots going on at school but most of it has been left on good grounds. How about you?" she asked.

"Yeah not bad at all, Lizzie is coming along beautifully. I'll be honest though, I'm getting a little itchy to get back now. I love being at home with her but there's only so much you can do," she explained. "So what dramas have you dealt with this term then?"

"I can't really go into it at the moment, I'll tell you when I can. Anyway why are we talking about work? It's half term! How is everything?"

Grace handed Clara her tea before answering, "yeah pretty good really. We've got a good routine going on and honestly I think I have the best behaved baby ever. I think that's probably bad news for the toddler years…" she chuckled. "How about you?"

"We're getting back to normal. Danny is still a little overprotective but they've got me on meds now which seem to have controlled the attacks. Still can't drive mind but the odd taxi doesn't hurt and I'm okay to walk on my own now. Haven't had much time to think about my problems recently anyway. But Danny is determined I'm going to relax this week and he's probably right."

"He very much is. Honestly you never change even after everything that's happened we still can't stop you, but then you wouldn't be you if you didn't and we can't have it both ways eh? At least Danny keeps you relatively under control." Grace chuckled at Clara blushing, "you are unbelievable."

Clara rolled her eyes, "that's why I love you Grace, always so supportive," she smiled. "Ah, I think your daughter is calling," Clara pointed out as they heard some gurgling noises over the monitor. "Why don't we get her up and head out to grab some lunch? I could do with the fresh air."

Grace nodded, not moving and sipping her tea. "Go on then Auntie Clara, off you pop."

"Cheeky sod," she grinned, not really minding as she went upstairs. Lizzie was lying in her cot happily gurgling away to herself. "Well hello beautiful," she picked her up and smiled down at her. "My word you've grown! Look at you, aren't you gorgeous?" Lizzie suddenly put on a huge smile. "Yeah you know it too," she chuckled. "Right then missy let's get you ready to go out."

#-#-#-#

Danny was sat on sofa when she arrived home. He'd dropped off with his marking in front of him making Clara smiled - he looked really adorable. She grabbed the blanket from the chair and rested it over him, kissing his head gently and going into the kitchen to put the kettle on. It had been a long day, but a lovely one. Clara found herself staring out of the window, looking out at the garden and thinking over things.

The kettle had long boiled when the was drawn back from her daydream, "something interesting out there?"

"Hm? No no, I was just… I don't know…" she turned around, confused.

"Making tea?" Danny pointed at the kettle and the mug beside her. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I just lost myself in thought I'm fine. I think. Sorry, long day. How are you? You looked adorable when I got back."

"Hard work all that marking," he chuckled, "how're Grace and Lizzie?"

"Really good. Elizabeth has grown but she is a real cutie. Such a happy baby honestly, so smiley and well behaved," she took his hand and kissed him softly. "Just us tomorrow then eh?"

"Just us, what do you want to do?" he asked, stroking her hair softly.

"Bed, TV, pizza maybe?" she grinned, "I just want a day doing nothing, just you and me. Turn our phones off, just a relaxing day with nothing else to think about," she smiled. "Right now though, I just need to nip out. I won't be long," she smiled and slipped out of his grasp, heading out.

The next morning Clara woke up and the bed was empty. "Oh where have you gone mister?" she went to sit up but the door opened. "Oh hello, where have you been?"

"At the kettle obviously, here," he handed over a tray with breakfast on. "You looked very peaceful."

"You're a star, thank you. Now get back in it's lonely here," she smiled as Danny came back over. "How did you sleep?"

"Really well. It was nice not to have an alarm. I was thinking I could nip out, maybe get a bottle of wine for later? Did you want anything?"

"Probably not a bottle of wine to be honest," she replied casually, sipping her tea. "Tea is good. Actually, you could grab some decaf tea if you wanted?"

"Since when did you drink decaf tea?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Since today. Well, after breakfast. Better to be safe than sorry," she shrugged and started eating her toast.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked. Clara nodded, "okay then…" he gave up and ate his own breakfast.

After she'd finished Clara put her tray down on the floor and settled against Danny who had already done the same. "Not rushing out to the shops then?" she grinned, taking his hand.

"No… but I was thinking about what you said. You're not hinting at something are you?" he asked.

"Do I ever hint?" she grinned and smirked, knowing he couldn't see her face.

"You're a world of metaphors Clara," he rolled his eyes. "Come on just tell me, I think I know but… tell me?"

"What do you think?" Clara smiled and looked up at him.

Danny was sat there with his mouth slightly open, clearly stuck for words as the realisation started to hit him. Clara chuckled a little and moved to open the drawer beside the bed, pulling out a test stick and handing it over to him. "It really is isn't it? You really are?" he took it from her and looked at the result. "Clara…"

"Have you not woken up yet?" he asked and Clara giggled. "You're gonna be a Dad silly," she told him.

Danny didn't speak, but he put a hand to her cheek and leant down to kiss her softly. "When did you find out?"

"Last night. I kinda had a suspicion for a couple of weeks but I think I was scared to find out incase… well, you know," she settled back down into him and a hand rested on her stomach. "Seeing Grace and Lizzie yesterday convinced me to get the test done and here we are."

"Our little miracle," he told her, resting his own hand over hers. "You're shaking."

"I'm scared, what if it happens again?" she let their fingers intertwine as she tried to let her breathing relax.

"We can't think like that. One step at a time yeah? We'll get into the GP and take it from there. You're not alone in this, I promise," he kissed her head softly. "I love you."

They ended up with an appointment at the GP the next morning before they went off to visit Chelsea. Clara left the surgery a lot calmer than when she arrived, the doctor's words being positive and with a date for their first scan she felt she could relax a little more. "So I lost track of all those dates…" Danny chuckled, "you're 8 weeks right?"

"Yeah, 8 weeks most likely. Probable due date beginning of June but the scan will confirm everything because of how I can't be sure about things given everything that was happening. I can't wait to see this little one…" she smiled as they got in the car. "Anyway, next stop?"

"Let's go," he shut the car door and set off as Clara directed him to Via and John's house.

As they knocked on the door Clara dropped her hand from her stomach, realising she hadn't actually moved it since they'd left the doctors but it was too early to be spreading the news. She wasn't even going to tell Grace for now, she needed everything straighter in her head. "Alright?" Danny whispered as they waited. Clara nodded, smiling at him before looking back as the door opened.

Via was stood behind it, smiling - a good sign. "Hey, how you enjoying the holidays?"

"She's spent half of it at work," Danny rolled his eyes.

"Nothing changed then," Via chuckled, "come on in I'll put the kettle on. Chelsea is just going through some work with John she'll be down in a sec."

"Oh no problem, it's you I really need to catch up with after all," Clara told her, following her in. Danny shut the door behind them before joining them in the kitchen.

"Well you know the last however many years of my life inside out after what's happened, but tell me more about you?! You don't really post a lot online to give anything away. Last I heard you were moving in with that guy? I'm guessing things changed…"

"Oh very much so. Too much to go into with the danger of prying ears, but yeah - Danny's back now," Clara smiled.

"Wait wait wait. I hadn't put 2 and 2 together… this is _the_ Danny? The one you never stopped writing about?" she looked incredibly shocked. "Oh my word Clara. I remember the letter after he left-"

"Alright stop there, yes yes it is. And yeah Danny this is Via, the girl I would be writing too while you cooked dinner."

"Oh yes I loved the weekly dinner updates," Via chuckled. "I can't believe he's back…"

"I think you're more shocked than I was," Clara smiled. "He is back."

"He is here," Danny grinned, "it is lovely to finally meet the girl behind the letters. Clara told me a lot about you, I frequently got live readings of said letters."

Via started making the tea as they chatted, filling in the main gaps of the last few years. Danny smiled and watched as he saw Clara finally seem to relax. He spotted John come downstairs and stood up from the sofa they'd moved to to greet him.

"They're chatting huh?" John asked as they stood in the hall.

"Can't get a word in edgeways," he chuckled. "John yes?"

"Yes, lovely to meet you. All a little odd this isn't it?" John towards the two women. "How long have you known Clara?" He asked, guiding Danny to the kitchen so they could talk.

"Good question… a long time," he smiled, "we met at school, dated for 6 years before we decided to part ways when I left for the army. Seems fate had other ideas… " he held up his hand to show the wedding ring. "Funny how things come around."

"Fate has a strange way of showing itself. Via and I… well, her parents didn't like me. Too rough apparently, didn't believe I could make something of myself. That's why we got away - ended up down here. Good move really, I've got a great job and Via wanted to get into foster care so… here we are."

"Looks like you've made a good go of it. Well what a nice coincidence we all ended up here. Haven't seen Clara smiled like that since we got back from the wedding - been a lot to deal with the last few weeks," John looked a little concerned, "oh, we only got married 4 weeks ago - it's not like it's been years," he explained. "Just nice to see her relax a little."

"It's just nice to see Via with someone other than me or the girls. We left all her family and friends - it wasn't easy. She's happy, I know she is I believe her, but it doesn't mean she couldn't do with someone else to talk to."

"A win win situation then," Danny smiled.

"Talking about us?" Via snuck up behind James and asked. Clara giggled from behind when both men jumped slightly. "I'm going to make more tea, are Chels and Keelie coming down?"

"Mind if I…?" Clara asked and Via nodded. She left the other 3 in the kitchen and went upstairs. Not knowing the house she did a little bit of detective work to work out where to go and slowly opened the door. Keelie was sat on the bed with Chelsea looking through a book together. "Alright you two?"

"Yeah, just figured you'd be busy catching up. We've been reading Harry Potter, on the third book already - Via has them all and I've wanted to read them with Keelie for years," she smiled.

"They're so cool! I think Chelsea is like Hermione because she's so clever," Keelie smiled. "Can we go down now Chels?"

"You go, I'll be down in a sec," Chelsea smiled and let her sister go. Once she'd gone downstairs she looked up to Clara. "Thank you, you've given her a childhood."

"And what about you?" Clara sat down on the bed beside her. "It's not all about Keelie you know?"

"I know, but seeing her happy makes me happy. I can relax, focus on myself a bit more. John is really helpful with school work I can finally ask for help at home - it's like I'm living a different life. I still wake up in the morning and question if it's all real but it's finally becoming more like normality. I don't think I've ever actually considered enjoying the school holidays either, but we've already had some really nice days. We're going out for dinner tonight - I don't remember ever going out for dinner?"

Clara smiled, "you're doing great kid. Why don't we go and join the others?"

"Yeah, thanks Miss," Chelsea stood up and started off downstairs. Clara followed, glad to see her finally relaxing.


	27. Chapter 27

It had been 3 weeks since finding out about the pregnancy and they weren't telling anyone just yet. Danny woke up on Saturday morning and rolled over to see Clara still asleep on her side. He gently slid his hand over to rest with hers on her stomach where it seemed to be permanently attached when she slept. It was nice to see her peaceful, she was so worried about this pregnancy after her last experience that she seemed to be struggling a little in the last couple of weeks and that fact hadn't gone unnoticed - Danny had been approached by 3 teachers and 5 students in the last week who were concerned about her.

Lost in thought he almost jumped when she rolled over to face him, her eyes flicking open. "Morning," she smiled gently and Danny kissed her softly in reply. "Very nice. What time is it?"

"About 9. We don't have anything to do today love, you can rest I know you need it," he brushed her hair back softly. "You look a little uneasy are you okay?"

"Mmm just feel a little…" she didn't get to the end of the sentence before running off to the loo.

Danny jumped up after her and held her hair. "Morning sickness has started then huh?" he kissed the side of her head gently as she settled. "Okay?"

"Yeah I think that's it, sorry," Clara sighed and leant back against him. Danny reached forward quickly and flushed the loo. "Maybe resting isn't such a bad idea."

"It's a plan plan. You get back into bed, I'll grab some water and then sort breakfast. Toast?" he asked. Knowing she probably didn't fancy much right now. Clara nodded and, after being helped up, made her way back into the bedroom, lying down and turning the TV on.

Her phone rang as she settled and Clara groaned, really not in the mood to talk to anyone. She picked it up and looked at the screen - Grace. "Hi," she answered shortly.

"Good morning to you too, cheer up your favourite deputy is back on Monday," Grace chuckled. When she didn't get a response she realised maybe she wasn't joking. "Okay what's up?"

"Nothing, nothing's up. Sorry, I've not long woken up and I just… well, not quite with it yet," Clara quickly jumped into action when she realised what was going on - maybe too quickly.

"Hm, fair enough. I was wondering if you were free for lunch? Quite fancy the new pizza place on Main Street?" The thought of the food was enough to set Clara's stomach churning again - she definitely wasn't eating pizza for the rest of this pregnancy.

"Sorry I have a whole load of work to do today, I'll call you later I just need to sort something," she hung up and had to run back to the bathroom. She sorted herself out and took a few deep breaths, walking back into the room as Danny also entered. "Grace called, mentioned food, I'm now not eating pizza for the next 6 months," she lay down again, perching up slightly and sighed. "I didn't tell her. I can't, not yet."

Danny sat beside her and handed her the tea, putting the plate of toast between them. "I know, you don't have to. We won't tell anyone until you are ready."

"Grace is back on Monday," she told him, "she knows me really well."

"Monday is 12 weeks you know?" he told her. "Well of course you do, I just mean maybe you should tell Grace. She's been there most recently after all, she can support you."

Clara murmured something indiscernible and picked up the toast, starting to take small bites. Danny kissed her head gently before joining in eating breakfast, watching the TV In silence together. "Did you want to do anything in particular today?" Danny eventually asked.

"We could go shopping, start getting ready for this little one?" she suggested, starting to pick up now she'd eaten and had tea. "I don't even know where we start."

"Decoration?" he asked.

"Yes, definitely. Yellow, I think we should go with yellow. It's bright, maybe flowers too?" she suggested, ideas coming suddenly. "You're better with this kind of thing, what do you think?"

"I think I have the perfect idea. Let's get up and get over to the store, I'll explain on the way," he smiled and jumped out of bed.

#-#-#-#

Clara watched as Danny almost danced up and down the paint aisle, obviously designing the room in his head as he went. She didn't get involved, she'd already done her bit and this was giving her enough joy. He seemed happy enough, she could tell this was something he couldn't really wait to do.

"Do you not want to see what I'm planning?" Danny interrupted her daydream.

"Hm? Oh, no I think I trust you," she smiled, "you look very happy going up and down the aisle."

Danny kissed her gently and took her over to the trolley, "any colours you disagree with?"

"Nope, I've not got a clue what you're planning but I love it," she leant into him, "I'm assuming yellow is the base coat?"

"Yep, the colours are for my surprise, seeing as you don't want to know," he grinned. "We can paint later if you like?"

"I was hoping you'd say that, I'm quite looking forward to it," Clara smiled, "let's pay, then you can buy me lunch, then we can go home and start painting."

"Oh I can, can I?" he chuckled, "alright come on then you."

#-#-#-#

Changing into old clothes they were both ready to paint. Rollers in hand and music going they started painting out the room, joking as they did. As they got further in Danny started joking even more so Clara gently flicked the roller causing paint to splash on him, face included. Danny looked at her, pretending to be shocked before returning the favour. "Hey don't attack the pregnant lady!" she shouted back at him.

"Ohhh you don't get to use that," he grinned and put the roller down, dipping his hands in the paint and running at her. Clara squealed and ran away from him. Danny chased her around the room and eventually caught her - his hands placed flat on her stomach leaving prints on the shirt. "Gotcha," he chuckled and kissed her neck gently.

Clara leaned her neck for him before removing herself from his grasp and turning round, "the yellow suits you pretty well," she giggled and wiped a little from his face.

"Well it's all over your back now too. Share and share alike right?" he chuckled. The doorbell rang, disturbing their moment. "Well that's rude, want me to go?"

"Nah I got it, you keep working," she winked and left the room - going downstairs and opening the door. "Oh, Grace hi… listen I'm sorry about earlier I um-"

"Work going well then?" she questioned, gesturing at the paint on her. "What's going on Clara? I've not seen you in like 3 weeks and now… well, I wouldn't have been upset if you'd just said you were decorating. Interesting colour choice that, very bright - suits your stomach beautifully. Nice positioning of the hands…" Clara rolled her eyes at Grace and grabbed her arm, pulling her inside.

Clara shut the door "alright I get it you've guessed already."

"Yes!" Grace smirked. "I knew it, the way you reacted when I was talking on the phone, it had to be," she took Clara's hands and jumped a little. "How far along?"

"12 weeks on Monday. I was going to tell you I swear, it's just all a little new and scary after last time," she shrugged.

Grace shook her head, "don't be silly, I completely understand. I'm here for you, anything you need. Gosh I'm so happy for you both. I'd hug you but I'm wearing pretty decent clothes right now."

Clara chuckled, "do you want tea or anything?"

"Nah I'll leave you guys to it, you're obviously getting nursery ready. I'll see you Monday - you'll have to start training me up for when you disappear on leave," she smiled and spotted Clara's face. "Oh you hadn't even thought about that had you! Giving up your little empire for 9 months. Don't worry I'll take good care."

"We've got time to sort that out anyway, I'll see you Monday," she smiled and saw Grace out. Just as the door shut Danny came to the top of the stairs.

"Grace?" he asked and Clara nodded.

"She worked it out, so that's one down," she rolled her eyes. "Told you she knows me too well."

Danny chuckled, "guess you don't need to worry about telling her anyway. We do need to think about other people however…"

Almost dismissing his statement, Clara shrugged and took his hand, "come on, we have work to do."

Deciding not to push it any further Danny followed her up to the room and they finished off the painting over the afternoon. When they finally finished it had started to get dark outside, "it looks so nice, the colour is perfect." Clara smiled, leaning on Danny's shoulder. "I love you so much, I couldn't go through this with anyone else."

"You couldn't because that would be grounds for divorce," he grinned.

"You know I'm going to be 4 and a half months pregnant when we go on honeymoon now," Clara commented, suddenly realising this herself.

"I suppose you will be yes, it won't change anything don't worry," he pulled her closer, "we'll still get to spend a _lot_ of time together." Clara grinned up at him, "you're adorable you know that?"

"You may have mentioned it once or twice," she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Can we have tea and sit down now? I'm shattered."

#-#-#-#

Monday came round too quickly. They'd done the second coat of paint on Sunday and now the room was a beautiful shade of sunshine yellow, as were both of them by the end of the day. Thankfully they'd got it all off before they returned to work so the evidence was gone.

The first face Clara saw when she arrived wasn't such a welcome one. "Morning David," she smiled politely, going into her room. He followed. "Can I help you?"

"I should hope so, you are meant to be the boss around here after all," he rolled his eyes.

Clara took a deep breath, putting her bag down and turning to face him. "Alright, what do you need?" She already knew of course, she'd expected him to argue with her about this.

"What was wrong with this lesson plan exactly?" he asked, putting it down on the desk in front of her.

"I wrote notes on there, should explain it completely. You can't go that far off the curriculum David I've already told you this once," she told him, sliding the paper back in his direction. "Is that all?"

"Are you just out to get me or something?" he accused.

"No, I'm out to do my job. Once you've proved yourself competent I'll stop having to check everything you do - that's the facts as they stand and you know it," she explained, starting to organise her desk.

"I've been teaching for-" he started and Clara looked up.

"I know David, I've had this speech multiple times, that changes nothing," she told him.

"I can't believe how incompetent you are!" he raised his voice at her just as Grace bounded into the room.

Grace, on hearing this, immediately changed her stance. "And who exactly do you think you are?"

Of course, they hadn't met before. Clara gave her a look to try and calm her down but Grace wasn't having any of it as David replied, "none of your business."

"Oh it's all my business when you're insulting my best friend I assure you. I'm guessing you're David then?" she said, squaring up to him a little.

"And you are exactly?" he seethed back. It was nice to know they were going to work well together.

"Miss Hawkins, Grace, your fellow English teacher and your _incompetent_ -" she said that with a distinct tone of disgust, "-boss' deputy. Just to catch you up here, because you obviously haven't bothered to ask, Clara is the youngest department head this school has seen in years. She didn't get there because there was nobody else to ask, she got there because she is damn good at her job. If she has any issues with you then you must be doing something seriously wrong because she still likes me and trust me I've screwed her over more than any best friend ever should. If I were you I would take her advice and run with it - you might actually learn something."

Clara walked over to her when she'd finally finished and pushed her back gently away from David, "that's enough Grace. Go get yourself set up, I'll be in shortly," she told her fairly sternly but when she was faced away from David she mouthed a 'thank you'. Once Grace had left she turned back to David. "I think this discussion is over don't you?" she picked up the paper he'd put down on her table and held it out to him. He didn't reply, simply taking the sheet from her and leaving.

Once he was gone Clara took a deep breath to calm down and went next door. "Sorry, needed to appear to be upset with you for that little speech," she smiled and hugged her friend. "It's so good to have you back honestly."

"It's good to be back. He really is a bit of an arse isn't he? I mean you told me about him but wow, what is his problem?"

"Me apparently. I'll fill you in more later, let's go and get tea I am in dire need right now," she yawned a little.

"Late night?" Grace asked suggestively.

Clara hit her and rolled her eyes, "we were finishing the painting you cheeky sod. Honestly you're a nightmare."

"Oh I know, but you miss it," she chuckled and they went off to the staffroom.

Later in the day Clara was going through the poetry anthology with her year 10 class which included Chelsea. Just as she set them off on their activity Clara spotted Chelsea looking out of the window, not really paying attention. She'd sat on her own away from her friends. Clara quickly glanced at the date - the court case started today. Chelsea was on the stand - albeit virtually - tomorrow morning. Clara silently cursed herself for forgetting and walked over, crouching down beside her table. "You alright?" Chelsea shrugged. "Come outside," she stood up and followed Chelsea out the door.

"I can't focus today, all I can think about is the case," she sighed. "I want to know what's going on, but I can't be there, I can't be in the same room as them again."

"You will find out sweetheart, in time you will. Are you okay to be at school? I can ring Via if you want?" Clara asked her. At that point Chelsea couldn't hold her tears in any longer. "Alright come on, go to my office sweetheart, I'll be there in a minute." Chelsea nodded and quickly ran up the corridor.

Clara hovered in the corridor for a moment trying to decide what to do next when Danny came down the corridor at just the right time. "Ah, you're free, go and watch my class will you?"

"Good to see you too," he replied. "Everything okay?"

"It's Chelsea and Keelie's parents' trial this week. I'd completely forgotten with everything else going on. She's not coping all that well, I'm going to get Via to come and collect her. They're busy doing an activity in there so you just need to make sure they actually work. I'll be back as soon as I can," she told him and ran off, leaving Danny with no choice - not that he would ever have said no.

Before going into her office Clara called Via and got her on the way. She went in to find Chelsea crying into her knees, shaking a little. Clara grabbed her coat from the hook and put it over the girl's shoulders and sat down in front of her. "It's okay to be sad. Whatever they did they were your parents."

"No, they weren't," she replied. "I'm not upset about losing them, but once this is over what happens to us? Via and John are only foster parents, they'll place us permanently when and if my parents get put away."

"Oh Chels, you shouldn't be thinking of that right now, just focus on the present and let them support you. You've been doing great the last few weeks, it's been lovely to see," she smiled softly. Her phone vibrated at that point, "I need to go and collect Via, hold on here sweet."

"You're still coming with us tomorrow aren't you?" Chelsea asked Clara when she got back to the office with Via.

Clara nodded, "of course, I have to give evidence in the afternoon too. It'll be alright love, we'll do our very best to support you."

Via sat down by Chelsea and put an arm round her, "come on, we'll get you home. Unless you want to do something else to take your mind off it?"

"Can we just like, talk about it? I need to talk about it. I haven't really, I mean other than the police, not properly," she looked down at her hands which were nervously pulling at the edge of her shirt.

Via reached over and took one of her hands, "of course we can. You can tell me whatever you want you know that?" Chelsea nodded, "alright then, let's go. Thanks Clara, we'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you miss, you made me see what I need to do," she smiled a little as they walked out and Clara took a deep breath before standing up, still quite unsure how she forgot all about it.

#-#-#-#

Waking up the next morning Clara had felt a knot in her stomach, the nerves kicking in. Danny had tried to reassure her as best he could, but he wasn't going with her.

Now she was waiting for Via, John and Chels to arrive. She was sat with Danielle and the lawyer, Henry, in a strange little room with a few chairs, a boiler and small pots of coffee and tea. They were sat in silence and Clara was trying to get herself together, taking deep breaths until the moment the door opened and the three of them came in. Immediately she put on a reassuring smile as Chelsea came to sit near her. "How you feeling sweet?"

"Nervous, but okay. I told Via everything last night like… everything. It made me feel so much better, like a weight lifted off my shoulders. It almost makes today easier, knowing that someone else knows. I'm going to have to tell them some of it today and I think that's what I was scared of, but I'm not so scared now," she explained.

Clara gave her another reassuring smile, "that sounds good love, I'm really proud of you for doing this."

"Thank you, thank you for being here for me and testifying today, I just want to get this over now so Keelie and I can move on," she sighed gently. "She cried last night, she thought I wasn't going to come back today. I ended up staying in with her, she wouldn't even settle for Via."

"You're a good sister Chels, just make sure you're looking after yourself now okay?"

"I will, promise. After this I can finally let it all go, get on with actually living my life," Chelsea smiled at her.

About an hour later they were informed it was time for Chelsea to get set up in the room. Via went with her and Chelsea kept close to her all the way until they arrived. She was seated and Henry went through everything one last time before they went live to the courtroom. As promised, all she could see were the judge and lawyers including Henry who had left to go back in.

Via sat out of shot, smiling and nodding reassuringly whenever Chelsea looked round. She listened as Chelsea calmly answered all the questions, suddenly appearing very grown up despite some very difficult questions from the defence. She held her ground, nobody could have asked anymore from her. It seemed to go on forever, but eventually it was over. The moment the link ended Chelsea stood up and ran to Via, hugging her tight and letting out the build up of emotion. It was one thing telling Via everything, but she'd just told a whole room of people who could also see her parents. "I'm so proud of you Chelsea, you did so much better than I could ever have done, especially at your age. You're amazing, and it's all done now."

After a couple of minutes Chelsea stood back and wiped at her eyes, "sorry, I just needed to get that out you know?"

"Don't apologise, I understand completely. Do you want to go now?" she asked.

"No, I want to wait now, Clara is doing this for me today and I know she's nervous even if she isn't telling us. She doesn't have Mr Pink there so we need to help her," she told Via.

"You are not a normal teenager you know that right?" Via chuckled, "alright then, I'll ask them to take us back to the wait room."

#-#-#-#

Clara stood on the stand clasping her hands tightly together out of sight as she answered the questions. She went through everything that had happened that day, every detail she could remember to the best of her ability. There were a lot of questions, a lot of very horrible questions, but she kept her cool - she'd had enough trick questions from her pupils in the past after all.

When she finally got down and back out Chelsea ran up and hugged her, "thank you so much." Clara hugged her back.

"I'm simply doing my job," she told her.

"Nah uh, pretty sure this isn't in the job description," Chelsea stood back. "What happens now?"

"They've heard from everyone, the jury are going to make their decision. We don't know how long that might take, you don't have to hang around," Clara told her. "I have to get back to school but Danielle is going to update me later. We're not expecting you back today, you just do whatever you feel you need to alright?" Chelsea nodded and Clara said a quick goodbye to Via before leaving.

Once Clara had left Chelsea looked at Via, "I want to wait. I need to know."

"Whatever you need, but it won't be immediate so why don't we go and get something to eat and come back?" Via suggested and she agreed to that.

They arrived back just over 2 hours later to be told that the jury was just about to return their verdict. "That's quick," Chelsea looked up to Via, panicking slightly. "I can't go in there, I can't see them. I thought I could for this but I can't."

"We can wait out here darling, Henry will come out," Via rubbed her back to try and calm her down.

"Can you go?" she asked. "I want someone to be there, someone I trust," she looked Chelsea in the eye. "Please?"

"Of course, but you need to promise me to wait right here and don't go anywhere." Once it was agreed Chelsea sat down and Via went off to sit in the courtroom.

Chelsea grabbed her notepad from her bag and started sketching to try and distract herself. Time seemed to pass slowly in this building she had decided, which was the basis of her drawing. She was almost finished when the door opened and Via walked in and sat down beside her. "Tell me?" Chelsea asked.

"They found them both guilty. They'll be sentenced next week, but by the sounds of it it will be a long time," she told her, a little unsure how she would react.

Chelsea looked down at the floor, fairly unsure how she was actually meant to react. Before she could speak Henry walked in and sat down. "How are you feeling?" he asked Chelsea. He'd been really lovely through the whole thing.

"I don't know. I think I'm meant to be upset but I'm not," she shrugged. "I'm just so glad it's done and they can't hurt us anymore."

"Via told you about sentencing?" Chels nodded, "so it's going to be next week at 12, it's up to you whether you want to be here. Based on what was said I have hopes of a long sentence," he explained, "the maximum for the crimes they're been found guilty of would be 10 years." She didn't respond, reaching her hand over and taking Via's, squeezing it.

"I just want to go home now, Keelie will be home and worrying," she told them both. "Thank you for everything," she told Henry, "you made this a lot easier."

"That's what I'm here for. You can still contact me if you have any questions," he explained. "Maybe see you next week, if not I wish you all the best."

With that, they left and Chelsie started to piece together how she was going to tell her sister.


	28. Chapter 28

"Keelie is struggling to understand. Chelsea hasn't left her side, she's stayed in her room all night," Via explained. Clara had come round after work to see how they were getting on. "Anyway, come on in I've just put the kettle on."

"You're a star, I've actually got my own tea bags in my bag, sorry to be fussy-"

"Oh my word you're pregnant aren't you?" Via quickly established, looking down at her stomach, "you are! Oh my gosh Clara!"

"Shush!" Clara pointed to the stairs. Via nodded, mouthed an apology and led her through to the kitchen, shutting the door before practically begging for more information. "Alright alright make the tea and I'll talk," Clara chucked the teabag at her. They sat down at the table, tea in hand and Clara explained when she'd found out. "We haven't even told my dad yet, things have been a bit manic. Decorated the nursery at the weekend though, Danny is so excited - he's going to be a great Dad."

Via smiled, "you'll be a great Mum too, I have no doubt in that. I'm really happy for you both. But you know you can't hide it for much longer right?"

"I know I know," she sipped her tea, "we're meeting with Dad at the weekend, then we'll go public. How are you holding up anyway?" They talked for a while, catching up and discussing what had happened. It was a good hour and a half before the girls came down. "How you doing kid?" Clara asked Chelsea.

"I don't really know yet. We're getting there, we know it's the right thing. It's just the what comes next," she explained and Keelie quickly hugged into her. "We will be alright, we have each other."

Clara smiled and looked to Via, "I'd better head off, leave you guys to it. You know where I am if you need me," she stood up and walked over to Chelsea. "You're doing great, take your time. Come back when you're ready okay?"

"Thanks Miss, for everything," she smiled a little before Clara left.

#-#-#-#

Saturday came round faster than she'd hoped. Her Dad was coming round later and they hadn't spoken in quite a while, but he had a right to know. Danny could see she was tense as she got the dinner sorted, wrapping his arms around from behind and kissing her neck. "Calm, it's going to be fine."

"I know, and it's just him this time, but still it's been ages…" she sighed. "I'm sorry, I know it will be. Everything is ready now too," she turned around in his grasp, "I'm knackered already."

"There's still an hour before your Dad comes, do you need to lie down?" Clara nodded, leaning into him. Danny chuckled gently and kissed her head, guiding her through to the lounge where he sat on the sofa, letting her lie with her head on his lap. "Shut your eyes if you want, it'll be fine," he stroked her hair gently and Clara felt her eyes flick shut.

Danny had the TV on quietly while she slept and was surprised to hear a knock on the door. He looked up - time had passed quicker than he'd realised. Clara still looked peaceful and he made a quick decision to let her sleep, carefully moving her so he could get up and answer the door.

"Danny, nice to see you," Dave spoke almost sheepishly - after all the last time they'd spoken it had been less than 'nice'.

He had vowed to be polite however so Danny smiled, "you too, come on in. Clara's fallen asleep on the sofa and she hasn't been sleeping amazingly well so I've just left her for a moment. I'm sure she'll wake up shortly, just didn't want to wake her suddenly," he explained.

Dave nodded, "not a problem, I know what she can be like for tiring herself out."

"Can I get you a drink?" Danny asked, heading into the kitchen.

"If there's a tea going I wouldn't complain, thank you," Dave answered. "How have things been?"

"You know, up and down, but we're doing okay," he replied, making the tea and handing it to him. "How are you getting on? It's been a while…" he added a little awkwardly.

"Same old really," Dave replied before adding "listen Danny, I know things ended badly before. I was wrong not to defend Clara-"

"This isn't my conversation Dave," Danny replied.

"No it's not." Both men jumped a little at Clara's voice. "We're not having it today. That's not why you're here. But we will get onto that shortly I need tea and food. You should've woken me," Clara pointed at Danny.

"You needed the rest. I'll make your tea and finish off dinner," he rubbed her arm gently.

"I'm not an invalid you know?" She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Thanks," she added before leading her dad through to sit at the table. "He's been very protective since I was in hospital."

"You were in hospital?!"

"Yeah and you didn't bother to answer your phone. I'm fine now, all sorted," she shrugged it off. "Dad I would really like today to be a new start."

"Me too, I know I messed up but I am here for you," he replied. Clara nodded, "why am I here?" Dave asked.

"Later, stay here I'm just gonna help Danny," she stood up and went back to the kitchen.

Danny was just serving up when she came in, "I thought I told you to sit,' he smiled at her. "You okay?"

"Yeah okay, I think. Just, you know, nervous about telling him. I don't know why, I shouldn't be," she sighed and leant into him.

"I love you," he kissed her head. "It's gonna be fine my love, we have each other whatever happens." Danny finished what he was doing and placed a hand on her stomach, kissing her softly. "All 3 of us."

Clara leant into him for a moment, "I really don't know how I got so lucky," she kissed him. "Now we need to take this food through."

They ate dinner and talked pleasantly about how things had been, missing out some of the more dramatic moments. Dave talked too, but barely mentioned Linda much to Clara's relief. When they'd finished eating Clara looked to Danny and nodded so he knew what she was about to do. "Dad something else has happened recently."

"Is everything okay?" he suddenly looked concerned which Clara did find a little comforting in a way.

"Yes, yeah it is. Can I show you something?" She asked and stood up. Dave followed her upstairs and opened the recently decorated room. However what she saw was not what she was expecting. There were animals painted all over the wall now in different colours over the yellow they had originally chosen. Clara swung her head round to Danny before her Dad had even worked it out and he simply smiled.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Dave finally perked up. "Are you…"

"Yes Dad I'm pregnant, you're going to be a grandad," she told him and he quickly hugged her. The first proper hug they'd had in so long.

"Oh Clara I'm so happy for you, thank you for letting me back, I promise I'm here for this whole journey with you," he kissed her head. Clara stood back and let him in on the details that he needed to know - when the scans were, how far along she was and due date. "I'm so glad you told me. If you need anything you just call okay?" She nodded.

Dave asked to use the loo after that so disappeared off giving Clara time to turn to Danny. "When did you do all this?!"

"Short bursts while you've been visiting Via or Grace. I've been waiting half the week for you to go in there," he smiled. "Told you I had a plan."

"That you did. Well thank you, it's absolutely perfect," she kissed him. "I'll be honest I'm absolutely knackered," she leant into him. "I feel a bit mean asking Dad to leave so early."

"You're allowed to be tired, don't worry I'll disappear." Dave had already come back. "Honestly love you need rest. I'll see you soon yeah?" Clara nodded and turned to hug him before Danny saw him out.

#-#-#-#

Monday morning came around and Clara was getting ready slower than ever. Danny hadn't failed to spot this and went upstairs to find out what she was up to. "Come on we need to leave, we both have departmental meetings to get to," he stood at the door watching as Clara stared down at the floor. She didn't respond to him so he walked over and sat beside her on the edge of the bed. "What's on your mind?"

"Everyone's going to know, I don't think it's really hit me that things are going to change now," she looked up but only to stare at the wall now.

"Nothing's going to change, you're still you," he reached over and took her hand.

"But it will. You know it will, and I just can't be bothered with all the questions anymore," she sighed. "Even if I wanted to keep it quiet I just can't anymore, I swear this little one has grown overnight," she rubbed her bump with her spare hand. "I don't know what I'm scared of really, i just sort of… am."

"I'm here for you, if anyone says anything that upsets you then you tell me alright? I'll get them," he grinned. Clara was watching in the corner of her eye and smiled a little. "Come on then, let's go do what we do best."

Clara got into her room without anybody spotting her and started sorting things out for her lessons. Grace was first to walk into the room. "Oh wow you're showing now! Ahh you look amazing," she skipped over and hugged her best friend. Clara smiled a little, rolling her eyes. "Oh come on cheer up," Grace stood back and looked at her.

"Sorry I'm okay, just not looking forward to telling everyone. It's been nice you know? Just Danny and I…. I told Dad on Saturday - lucky really because everyone's going to know today," she placed the last pile of books down ready. "At least you still treat me like me."

"Oh yeah, pregnancy is getting you out of nothing," she grinned.

There was a small knock on the door and Jasmine walked in. Clara took a deep breath and turned around. "Woah where did that come from?"

"Subtle Jas, very subtle," Grace patted her shoulder.

"Sorry just… that wasn't there Friday," she got out.

"I'm no biology teacher but I'm pretty sure it must have been," Henry walked in at that point. "Mum text me last night."

"Of course she did," Clara clenched her fists briefly to try and release the anger that came from even the mention of Linda as she wondered who else she might have told. "I'll explain to everyone else when they arrive so just keep it shut for now yeah?" she told him and turned around to go to her desk, turning her laptop on.

Grace followed her round and crouched beside her chair, "okay? Don't let him get to you."

"I know, thank you. Can you chase up David for me?" She asked as a couple of others joined the room. Grace nodded and disappeared while Clara got some stuff up on the board.

Once everyone was in the room including David she stood back up and moved in front of the desk, leaning against it. "Before we go anywhere let's approach the elephant in the room,"

"Oh don't be mean to yourself, you're not that big yet," Grace said from where she was leaning against the wall.

Shooting a quick glare at Grace which she knew was joking Clara continued. "Yes, I'm pregnant. I'm just over 12 weeks so you've still got me for a while longer yet. That's all you need to know - I'm still me, I can still do everything as normal. Now let's get to work."

Nobody had a chance to reply before Clara got into their meeting information. As everyone was leaving she stopped David, "just need a quick word," she told him much to his disgust. "Please stop looking at me like that it's getting really quite dull. I just need to talk to you about one of your students."

"Any one in particular?" he rolled his eyes.

Clara shrugged, "no I just thought I'd pick a random one to talk about," she leant against the desk. "Yes of course a particular one. Keziah - I'm concerned by her lack of progress so far this term. She was coming on in leaps before the summer but the last couple of homework pieces have been like she's taken 2 steps back. Had you noticed?"

"Yes, but she's been very disruptive in class so it's not a surprise given that she doesn't listen," David explained, thinking he was being clever.

Clara sighed. "Right, no. No you don't get it do you?" she grabbed her timetable from the desk. "You've got year 8 first period, I'm free. I'm taking your lesson - maybe you'll see. I've still got your lesson plan somewhere. Don't even think about arguing with me because I am _not_ in the mood today."

He was far from impressed, but he knew there was no arguing so David just left. Once he had Clara walked round and crashed in her chair, leaning back. "Word is spreading fast," Danny's voice came from the doorway. "You okay? I thought you were coming to the staffroom after to tell everyone."

After stretching back she sat up, "sorry, just had a David moment. I'm sure my lot are doing a good job of getting the word out anyway. I now don't have a free this morning too so I need to get some work done."

"How come, what's going on?" Danny sat on the edge of her desk beside her.

"Just… stuff, I'll explain later. Sorry I really need to work, I don't mean to push you out…"

"You can push me out anytime," he leant down and kissed her quickly. "You know where I am if you need me."

#-#-#-#

Once she was in front of a class full of teenagers Clara felt a little more like her normal self - at least she did once they had got over the whole baby thing. David watched from the corner and she took over his lesson, using his lesson plan exactly as he had written it - well almost anyway.

It didn't take long for Keziah to get distracted and turn around to speak to her friend behind. Out of the corner of her eye Clara could spy David's smug look as it unfolded. She stopped what she was saying and walked over to Keziah's table, "Kez?" She got the girl's attention. "Do me a favour come and sit at the front here. I've got something for you to do." She didn't look too impressed but much to David's surprise Keziah didn't argue and simply moved to the front with her stuff.

Clara carried on for a few moments before setting the class off on their task and walking over to Keziah with a sheet of paper and crouching down in front of the desk she was sat at. "Just humour me and try doing these questions instead?" Only achieving a shrug in response Clara stood up and left her to it.

"Miss why _are_ you teaching us today?" one of the boys perked up after a few minutes.

"A special treat for all of you," she replied without looking up from the marking she was trying to get through. "Now carry on you've only got 10 more minutes and I expect it all done."

Thankfully they did as told and settled back down. This class were one of her favourites last year and she was sat to let them go so it was nice to see them again anyway, and unlike some they did seem to respect her. The ten minutes passed and she got up to hear their responses. A good discussion started up and in the end Clara hardly had to lead any of it. Before she knew it the lesson was over and everyone handed in their books before leaving. "There you go, mark that lot and then come back to me." Clara left a slightly shocked David in the room and walked out.

Even to her surprise she found Keziah waiting for her outside. "Thank you Miss, that work was loads more interesting. I really like the book but I was just getting bored."

"I thought as much. Well in future you come to me alright? Don't get yourself in trouble. I don't want to see those grades we worked so hard for last year disappear okay?" Clara told her, walking with her.

"I won't. I read loads over the summer like you said, I really enjoyed it. I just… I don't like Mr Fenwick," Keziah shrugged.

Resisting the urge to agree with her she went diplomatic. "We don't always get on with all our teachers and their teaching styles, but you know if you need any more help you can come to me. Just try and listen, give him a chance?"

"I'll try. Thanks Miss, I need to go," she ran off.

#-#-#-#

Danny was later home - he had a meeting after work. Clara had swung a lift home from Grace so she could get away from everyone's questions. She invited her in when they got there as James was looking after Elizabeth for a while. "You look knackered."

"Thanks," Clara collapsed down on the sofa once she'd made them tea. "It's just been a long day."

Grace nodded and sipped her tea. "Did you get anything from David after this morning?"

"Nope, but I'm looking forward to getting those marks back," she smirked. "His face was brilliant."

"What a fantastic boss you are," she chuckled. "Don't worry, everyone is on your side."

"Kids included evidently. I don't know, I just feel like David could be so much better than he is being, I just need to get it out of him."

"Everyone's a project to you, it's what makes you so good at your job," Grace smiled. "I'm really loving being back."

"I've missed you being there," Clara leant her head over onto Grace's shoulder and very quickly, unsurprisingly to Grace, she fell asleep.

Danny returned home about half an hour later. "Sleeping?" he asked when he walked in.

Grace smiled, "yeah, about 30 minutes now."

"I've noticed it more over the last week she gets really tired very quickly," Danny looked at Clara who seemed ever so peaceful. "Guess it's part of it all. You can go back home, I'll take over here."

"Alright, give her my love." Grace moved herself carefully out and allowed Danny to take her and rest her down. "See you tomorrow yeah?" Danny nodded and Grace left him to it. He sat down beside and watched her sleep.

An hour or so later Clara's eyes flickered open and she looked a little confused. "You're not Grace."

"Well observed," Danny chuckled a little at her half asleep confusion. "You've been asleep for over an hour love, dropped off on Grace but she had to get home."

"This kid has a lot to answer for," she sat up slowly, running her hands through her hair. "I'm sorry, are you okay? Was your meeting alright?"

"Don't sound so worried, you're allowed to be tired. I'm fine, quite enjoyed watching you sleep. The meeting was as riveting as it always is," he chuckled and kissed her head. "Let's get some dinner eh?" As she stood up Clara suddenly went dizzy and Danny jumped up to help her back down. "Hey you alright?"

"Yeah, got up too fast. Pregnancy is great but it also doesn't seem to agree much with me, I feel like it's got worse today as well. Still, only 5 more months to go…" she chuckled a little. "Lucky I've got you eh?"

"You've always got me. Just look after yourself sweetheart, promise me that," he rubbed her back.

Clara smiled at him, "always. Now make me dinner I'm starving," she smiled and sat back again.

#-#-#-#

Halfway through dinner the following day Clara's phone rang. She ignored it as they were eating, but it continued to ring. "Just get it, someone really wants you," Danny chuckled. Clara glanced over to where her phone was laying. "Alright cheeky I'll get it," he grinned and jumped up, taking it to her. "They're not giving up."

"It's Via," she replied before answering it. "Hey, sorry I didn't answer sooner. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, um, yeah. It will be. I spoke to Danielle today I'm going to see her tomorrow. Thing is Chelsea overheard the end of the conversation and she won't talk to me now," Via sighed. "Sorry I know this isn't really your problem it's just I'm not allowed to tell her anything until after the meeting and now I don't really know what to do."

"Via you're my friend. Regardless of my involvement in anything you can always call me. Do you need me to come over?" Clara questioned.

"No, no. I guess I just needed to vent a little. John is out for the evening and I just-" there was a pause while she checked Chelsea was nowhere near. "I'm going to ask them about adoption."

"Via! Oh my gosh are you sure?" she sat back, a little shocked.

"More than sure. I know I said I was going to foster and I might still do emergency foster care but I know how hard it could be to get them placed together in future and… I don't know, it just feels like something more. I need to look after them," Via explained. "Why do you- do you think it's a bad idea?"

"No! No I just wanted to make sure you were doing this for the right reasons. Although I guess that's kinda the point of meeting with Danielle anyway. Sorry if I sound a little OTT," she chuckled.

"When were you not overprotective?" Via pointed out, "don't worry it's good. You always keep me in check. Thank you for listening, I need to check on Keelie now. Speak to you tomorrow yeah?"

Clara agreed and hung up, "wow. Okay, so Via and John might be adopting the girls," she told Danny.

"They really do care for them and Chelsea has responded really well to them too," Danny pointed out. "This could be exactly what they all need."

"I hope so, I want it to work out," she smiled. "It sorts of feels like things are coming together you know? Not just for us."

"But definitely for us too," Danny stood up and walked round, leaning over and rubbing her bump gently. "Or even us 3."


	29. Chapter 29

**Hi hello sorry this is a bit of a rollercoaster I truly apologise…**

#-#-#-#

"Miss we're being adopted!" Chelsea ran into her room. "We had a meeting with Danielle last night and-" she stopped for breath. It was 3 weeks down the line from when Via had told her.

"Woah calm down, that's wonderful news but you look like you just ran ten miles so have a seat and I'll get you some water," Clara stood up, guiding Chelsea to a chair and grabbing a water bottle from her desk. "I'm really pleased for you both, you deserve it - all of you."

"Chelsea will finally have a proper family," she sipped at the water.

Clara smiled and grabbed a chair, "you both will. I know you care about your sister but you're important too. Now most importantly can you tell me why you're here at 8am? Does Via know?"

"Yes, I told her I was coming in early to tell you, and I promised Mr Pink I'd help you set up," she shrugged.

Raising her eyebrows Clara replied, "I'll get him later."

"He's got a point, you are quite pregnant now - you have to be careful," Chelsea told her and stood up. "What can I do?"

"Well given I can't send you anywhere else, you can put the books out for my first class, they're on the side just there," she pointed to the pile, "then you can tell me what work it is you need help with." A surprised look came across Chelsea's face, "I'm not stupid, but books first."

A few minutes later Chelsea slowly walked up to her desk. Clara had been doing some marking but looked up when she heard her nearby. "So what's up?"

"I'm scared. I mean, I'm really excited but… I'm so used to looking after Keelie and it's really hard to let Via and John take over. I can tell they're getting a little annoyed, they're not saying anything but I don't know what to do," she looked down at the floor. "I don't want to ruin everything but it's like I can't stop?"

Clara moved and pulled out two chairs for them to sit on in front of her desk. "Is that the real reason you came here?"

Nodding, Chelsea replied "it made for a good excuse. I figured Via would already have told you anyway but I'm scared it won't work out because of all this."

Leaning forward as best she could Clara managed to make eye contact, "Chelsea they wouldn't even consider adoption if they thought it wouldn't work. It was always going to be hard for you to let go of some of that responsibility but you really should - you need to live your own life now and let Via and John do the work," she explained. There was a short pause before she added, "why don't I come over tonight? We can talk to them about it together if that will make it easier?" She nodded, covering her eyes as she teared up. "Hey, it's going to be fine. I can't hug you here but- hold on." Clara stood up as she spotted something at the window and opened the door. "Hey Lisa," she called to the girl walking down the corridor who turned around quickly, only just having walked into school. "Don't worry you're not in trouble, I need your help."

The girl now walking back to her room was in Chelsea's year. She knew they'd been friends back in junior school but drifted just through the way high school went, but she also knew neither of them had any particularly close friends either - and there was something else they had in common. Before Lisa walked in the door Clara shut it and spoke quietly to her. "We spoke a lot last year about your adoption, I was hoping you could help me out? But only if you don't mind me talking to Chelsea about it."

"Chels is being adopted?" Lisa asked in shock.

"Yes, and I know I can trust you to keep a secret can't I?" there was a nod from the girl. "Good, you okay for this?"

"Yeah, anything I can do," she smiled a little and Clara opened the door, going in with her.

Chelsea looked up, "why is Lisa here? We've barely spoken since year 6 you know? In fact how do you even know that?"

"Friends in high places," Clara simply replied and grabbed a chair for Lisa who sat with them. "You never really fell out, I know that. I also know that Lisa has been in a very similar place to where you are now."

Suddenly Chelsea looked up at her old friend, "really?"

"That's why everything changed Chels, it all happened over the summer and I didn't know how to tell you," Lisa explained. "My mum's MS got worse and my Dad just… left. I'm okay with it now, I still get to see my Mum but she's in a care facility now and she won't be able to look after me again. I was placed with a foster family and they're amazing, look after me really well and I love being there. They told me they wanted to adopt me just after I started here and I was really against it at first but then I went to visit Mum and she pointed out that I may never get another opportunity like this. She's still my Mum, I call Lee and Diane by their names and they help me through everything with my Mum too. If you've got a good family to go into then you should, I remember what it was like with your parents and I know there was stuff you didn't tell me." Chelsea nodded and quickly burst into tears to which Lisa was very quick to respond, hugging her. Clara smiled, standing up and getting away to allow the friends to talk, standing outside her room.

Grace walked in, "in early again? You're working too hard."

"Haven't actually got a lot done," she nodded towards her window where Grace briefly glanced in. She looked up at Clara who answered her question before she could ask it. "Via and John are adopting Chelsea but she'd struggling a little with it all. Managed to catch Lisa to talk to her."

"Good shout, you look tired - lacking in sleep?" Clara nodded, "been there. Look if you need a hand with anything you tell me okay?"

"It's ridiculous I'm not even that far gone, but such is life. It'll be worth it," she smiled.

"Pregnant on your honeymoon then eh? Not that much longer to go," Grace changed the subject.

"We're actually thinking of postponing it…" Clara admitted. "Have a slightly less dramatic holiday for now. We'll get there, someday, but not right now. I want to be able to enjoy it properly without worrying about this one you know?" Grace nodded but didn't reply to the statement. "I'm gonna get back in there, could you go make me tea?"

"Sure, good luck," Grace left and Clara reentered the room.

There were smiles on their faces and the girls seemed to be chatting away. "How we doing?"

Chelsea looked around to her teacher, "yeah, good. Lisa told me everything about how it works. I… think it'll be okay. But can you still come over tonight?"

"Course I will. Now the both of you need to get off so I can sort my room out but you know where I am if you need me," she smiled before they left.

#-#-#-#

The knock at her door bought her out of the work bubble she'd got in quickly after her final lesson. "You coming?" Danny was stood with his bag.

"Yes…" looking up at the clock she realised the time, "wait no. I need to get over to Via's, can you drop me there?"

"Again?" Danny asked, leaning against the doorframe. She'd been over a lot recently, even cancelled their date night one evening. "Clara you're always there at the moment."

"I know, I'm sorry but this is a big time for all of them and I promised Chelsea I'd help her talk to Via about all this… I'll try not to be too long, it should be fine really but she's scared," Clara explained, packing up. Danny gave up at that point, just waiting for her to follow him out before driving over and dropping her off, barely saying a word on the journey. "I'll see you later?"

"Sure," he replied before driving off after the door had been shut. Clara watched the car go for a moment but was quickly distracted after Via opening the door.

"Are you alright there? You're staring into the distance," she walked out to meet her.

Almost jumping at the noise of her speaking Clara turned around, "sorry, got distracted. Hi, everything okay?"

"Fine, except the whole mystery around why you're here…" Via replied.

"Let's go in shall we? Then you'll find out. Is John around too?" Clara asked and she explained that he was in the lounge with Chelsea so they went in to meet them.

Clara didn't say much, she let Chelsea do the talking. She explained how she felt and what had happened - including why she'd really run off to school that morning. Via and John listened, letting her tell her story. Only when she finished did John speak, "we're not angry with you love, it's just a bit difficult for all of us. We just need to work together and keep talking. You know Keelie better than any of us, we don't mind you telling us where we're going wrong if you're good about it. This is new to all of us, we'll find a routine eventually," John told her.

"John's right, we love you both and we want to make this work - and we will," Via added.

After a glance up to Clara who nodded, Chelsea looked back, "I just don't want to ruin anything."

Via immediately responded, "you're not, I promise you're not. Tell you what, why don't we get a chinese and we can talk about things over?"

"That's my cue to go," Clara interruped.

"You're welcome to stay if you want?" Via suggested but Clara knew she couldn't.

"I think I need to get back, I'll grab a taxi so you guys can keep talking, see you tomorrow Chels," she said goodbye to them all before leaving and calling the taxi.

#-#-#-#

The car wasn't on the drive, there were no lights on either. Thankfully she had her key in her bag and let herself in. She hunted around but there was no note to say where he was. Clara sighed, put her bag down and got her phone out, texting him before she went upstairs to change and settle down with some marking. There was no reply to her message after an hour so Clara tried again, starting to worry a little. 2 hours after that there was still nothing. She continued to work but couldn't concentrate and stuck the TV on instead, eventually falling asleep infront of it.

A bang of the door woke her. It was still dark, the clock said 03:11. The TV was still on so she flicked it off and went to the top of the stairs, letting out the breath she was holding when she saw it was Danny. "Where have you been? I've been worried, you didn't answer your phone!"

"I've been with my friends, just like you," he replied, hanging his coat up.

"You've been drinking, Danny we have work in the morning, it's gone 3am…"

"I'm still angry with you," he just about managed to get out.

Clara dropped her head, "I know, and we need to talk about it but not when you're like this. Let's just get to bed yeah?"

"I'll sleep on the sofa thanks," he walked off into the lounge and Clara knew there was no point in fighting it so she sat down on the stairs and was just about able to watch him lie down and he soon dropped off. Once Danny was asleep she grabbed a blanket and went down, lying it over him and watching him sleep for a moment before going back up and going back to sleep.

Unfortunately it wasn't long before her alarm went off and she was fighting to get up. Quickly throwing her hair up she went downstairs to wake Danny up. He looked unsettled, moving a little as if he was having a nightmare. Clara sighed, she didn't want him to go through this again. She quickly kneeling knelt down and carefully rubbing his arm. As she expected he woke with a start and she had to quickly dodge the instinctive movement his arm made. "I'll leave you be I just didn't want you to be late," she stood up and started to walk towards the door.

"No don't," he quickly stood up and grabbed her arm. "We need to talk, I want to get this sorted - I can't stand it when we argue," he told her.

Clara stayed silent for a moment before replying, "we do, and I can't stand it either but I don't want to do this after 3 hours sleep and when you're hungover. Speaking of which, you do actually look awful, are you okay to go in?"

"Of course I-" it didn't take long before he had to run off.

She followed behind to find him sat against the bathroom wall breathing deeply. "Right I'm telling them you're not well, I can get in early and sort everything but you need to drink water and sleep. I'll tell them you've got a stomach bug, I'm not going to drop you in it, at least it's Friday so we don't need to worry about the 48 hour rule." Danny didn't even have the energy to argue and let Clara take him up. Once he was in bed she got ready and called Grace to grab a lift in.

"Is everything alright?" Grace asked when she picked Clara up.

"Yeah, he's just got a stomach bug. Can't wait to get my licence back it's a nightmare grabbing lifts and taxis all the time," she smiled apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, it's not really out of the way. Is everything really alright? You look absolutely knackered."

Her friend knew her well, but this wasn't the time. "Yeah just bad night with this one," she rubbed her stomach, "plus waking up early to deal with Danny so I haven't had much sleep." Grace nodded and they continued to talk off topic.

#-#-#-#

After what seemed like the longest day at work ever she arrived home, opening the door to the smell of something gorgeous cooking. A few seconds later Danny appears in the hall, "I thought we could talk over dinner."

"You didn't have to cook," she slipped her shoes off, "but thank you, I need it." Danny served up and they sat down, both starting to eat in silence for a moment before Clara broke the silence. "Say what you're thinking, I don't mind."

After a couple more bites he put his fork down for a moment, "you're too involved with Chelsea and her sister. I know Via is your friend and you want to help but we're having our first child and this is the first time I've really seen you in weeks. I've always loved how much you care about others, especially your pupils, but this has gone too far now."

When he finished Danny took a sip of his drink and Clara put her fork down this time, "you're right, I know you're right. Via and Chelsea are both scared and I've been trying to help them but it's taken over at the expense of you," she paused, "i'm all yours now, they're on track and I'll learn to say no I promise. We have things to do, a lot to look forward to."

"I'm sorry about last night, that was completely the wrong way to react," he said and they both finished eating. Once they'd finished he cleared away and went back in. "Movie on the sofa?"

"Sounds perfect," she stood up and kissed him gently.

#-#-#-#

The weekend seemed to go so quickly and they were back to work on Monday. "You look happier," Grace commented when Clara walked into her room that morning.

"It's the beginning of the week, give it time," she grinned, "I'm assessing David this morning so it may not last long."

"Oh damn you poor thing, if you need to escape send me an SOS and I'll think up a reason," Grace chuckled.

"Thanks, what would I do without you?" Clara replied, "I'd better get myself sorted, catch you later." Grace watched as she left, wondering exactly why she'd come to her room in the first place and made a note to keep an eye on her today.

She sat at the back of David's class and did her best to focus on him, but there was something not quite right - she could feel it just on the side of her stomach. Around 20 minutes into the lesson she had to stifle scream as she doubled over. "Miss are you okay?" she heard - Keziah was sat at the next table, but she couldn't reply. The young girl didn't need to hear anymore, "sir! Miss Oswald needs help!" David stopped speaking and looked up disgruntled at his student before turning his head to Clara and realising this was genuine.

"Uh… right, everyone go down to Miss Oswald's room and wait in there - sensibly! Keziah, can you go and get Mr Pink and the nurse?" Nobody argued, the class left and Keziah ran off to find Danny and the school nurse, but she also rang 999 too and asked for an ambulance.

"Is the patient breathing?" the woman on the other end of the phone asked.

"Um, she was when I left the classroom, it's my teacher she's got really bad pains and she's pregnant," she reached Mr Pink's classroom and knocked on the door. He looked out and she gestured for him to come out while the woman was still asking her questions she couldn't answer.

"Keziah you can't be on your-" Danny started.

"Hang on Mr Pink will know more," she held the phone out. "Miss Oswald is in pain, she's in Mr Fenwick's room. The ambulance lady needs more information about the pregnancy. I'm gonna go get the nurse," she told him and ran off. Danny had to shake out of the shock and started speaking to the lady on the phone, who he now knew was called Fiona, while running off to find Clara, grabbing the first person he saw to cover his class. He explained everything he could and once he reached Clara managed to tell Fiona a little more about her condition. "I just need to speak to her, I'll hand you to my colleague has been with her - sorry there's so many people."

"No problem, help is on the way so it shouldn't be long now," she told Danny.

He handed the phone to David and told him to explain what had been going on before going to Clara. "I'm here," he knelt down, taking her hand and getting close to her. "Talk to me?"

"It hurts, it really hurts."

She was crying, he could see the pain. "There's an ambulance on the way it-"

The door burst open, interrupting him and Keziah ran in with the school nurse. "Sorry, I couldn't find her."

"No you did well," Danny told her. "I'll get your phone back soon, go to the rest of the class for now okay?" She nodded and left.

In the mean time Jo walked over, "how are we doing? Don't tell anyone but I was a midwife in a previous life, where does it hurt?"

Clara just about managed to point to the area and Jo nodded, "alright, just take deep breaths for me okay?"

"Is.. it…" Clara started.

"I can't say, they'll do tests but there are multiple options not just the worst, try and stay positive it's the best thing you can do for you and the baby," she explained.

"I can't do it again," she cried into Danny, "I can't."

"I know, but we don't know it's that yet so just take deep breaths. I'm not going anywhere," he rubbed her back gently just as the paramedics walked in. Clara held his hand tighter. "I might have to move to let them work love, but I'm not going anywhere."

They introduced themselves and Danny answered most of their questions unless it was something Clara needed to answer herself. They did basic obs but decided she needed to go straight in and so they got her into the ambulance and Danny joined her, being assured they would cover them both. They'd given her some painkillers but she was still in pain and the journey to the hospital felt like hours even though it was only a few minutes.

"What if it is Danny?" she asked, tears falling.

He leaned forward, strapped into the chair but getting as close as possible, "then we will go through it together, but you need to stop thinking like that okay?" He kissed her hand softly, and tried to wipe her tears away, it broke his heart to see her like this.


	30. Chapter 30

It felt like forever before the doctors came out and he could go in to Clara. "Is everything okay?" he asked, taking her hand and kissing it gently but she pulled him closer in tears.

"They won't say anything, keep saying they're waiting for results, I'm scared Danny," she cried into him.

He held her close, "shh come on, we'll hear soon," kissing her head he tried to comfort her.

The door opened a few minutes later and they both looked up in a mix of hope and fear. Doctor Wood came in and walked over to the bed. "You're not having a miscarriage, the baby is healthy and growing well. Here," he handed over a picture for them, "you do have a pretty bad urine infection which is what's caused the pain. I know it seems silly but it's not uncommon in pregnancy for it to feel more painful due to the pressure on the system. We'll get you started on some antibiotics, you'll need to rest for a few days and then you should be back to normal - well, as normal as it gets when you're 6 months pregnant," he smiled. They thanked him before he left.

Clara started crying in relief, leaning into Danny. "I was so scared it was going to happen again…"

"I know love, but it's not and you're okay," he stroked her hair gently, "you're going to be fine yeah? We'll get you home and you can sleep it off," he reassured her.

"Is everything okay at school?" she asked quickly.

Danny rolled his eyes, "is that all you ever think about? Yes it's fine, Grace has been texting me every 5 minutes checking how you are. They've got it covered don't worry."

"Sorry, I've just let them down so much recently you know?"

"I know, and we've had this conversation before. If they didn't like you, they'd have rebelled by now. Just relax, you'll be back in a few days," he smiled, "shut your eyes if you want, we need to wait for your medication. He watched as she fell asleep and smiled at how peaceful she looked.

#-#-#-#

He opened the door and quickly shushed Grace, "she sleeping. Everything okay?" Danny asked as he shut the door behind her.

"Yeah just bought the rest of her stuff back. Please tell me she's not coming into work this week?"

"I'll work on it, I'll have to come in though this time…" he looked towards the stairs.

Grace put a hand on his arm to get his attention back, "she'll be okay Danny."

Sighing he looked back round, "I know. I do know that, it's just the amount she's been through and now this, I'm scared that she might have to go through this again."

"Listen Danny I-" she started when there was another knock on the door. "Any ideas?"

"Nope, Clara made me promise not to call her Dad on any occasion without her consent unless she's significantly unconscious. No idea who that is," he went over and opened the door. "James…"

He felt himself be pushed aside as Grace came to the door, "what are you doing here?!"

"I wanted to check Clara was okay… you know? After before and…"

"James, why have you brought Lizzie with you? You don't know what happened yet do you?" he looked shocked, "she's still pregnant. But really didn't you think?" Grace sighed, "just bring her in it's cold out there. Sorry Danny is that-"

"It's fine," Grace spun round when she realised that wasn't Danny's voice. "Why do you all look so shocked it's not like I died." Clara walked down the rest of the stairs from where she'd stopped and walked over to Lizzie's pram, "hey you, aren't you growing eh?" she picked her up, "shall we go and find something yummy?" A gurgle of agreement came and Clara smiled at her and then at the other adults before walking off into the kitchen.

The other three of them looked at each other, "is she really okay?" James finally broke the silence.

"You know I think she actually is," Danny looked back to the door, "we should probably follow her in you know?" They all jumped out of their confused moment and went into the kitchen.

"You lot took your time, we've already finished all the biscuits," Clara smiled. "Will you lot please lighten up there was only 2 in there honestly! Also why are you here James you've been avoiding me for the last year or so?"

"Wanted to check everything was okay, you know after… well, you know... " Clara rolled her eyes. "What?"

After quickly making a silly noise in response to the one Lizzie had just made she looked back to James, "because I'm married, you have a beautiful little girl and I honestly can't see the point in us hating each other anymore. What happened is in the past and-" she stopped.

Lizzie looked up at her confused, "ahhHH!" she squealed trying to get Clara's attention. When that didn't work she started to whimper, and then cry. A few moments later Clara came round. Everybody was looking a bit shocked.

She didn't speak, just handed Lizzie over to Grace and ran off upstairs. Danny sighed gently, "I should have realised… please, make yourselves tea," he followed her up and found her curled up on the bed in tears. "Clara, it's okay they understand," he explained placing a hand on her arm but she shrugged it off.

"But Lizzie didn't! She got upset, what about this one?" she placed her hand on her stomach. "They won't understand, they'll get upset when I just stop and there's nothing I can do about it," she cried.

Danny tried taking her hand this time and she finally took it. "I love you, and so will our baby, Clara it'll be okay and-" they were interrupted by Lizzie crawling over the bed. Grace retreated to the door as her daughter crawled up and settled beside Clara, happy as larry and giggling as she looked at her godmother.

"Children forgive Clara," Grace spoke quietly and left the room.

She sat up and lifted Lizzie onto her lap, "your mummy is very good to me," Clara told her, but Elizabeth was far too busy trying to grab her hair. "Cheeky girl! I'm sorry I upset you," she kissed her head.

"She doesn't care," Danny smiled, sitting up beside them, "do you eh? You're looking forward to meeting your honorary cousin I can tell."

As if on cue the girl flopped from where Clara was holding her up and leaned on her bump. Clara smiled and looked up, kissing Danny. "BAAA!" Lizzie screeched in disgust making them both laugh. "Ma!"

Clara chuckled, "I agree, let's get back down to Mummy and Daddy shall we?" she kissed lifted her up in the air and did aeroplane with her before they stood up and went downstairs. "I'm sorry, just a slight panic attack… you guys alright?"

They both nodded, "made you both tea," Grace nodded at the mugs on the table. "Want to chat?"

"Later, I'm good now. I'm starving, fancy a takeout?" Clara suggested and they all settled down in the lounge, ordering food.

After they finished eating everyone sat back. Clara now had a sleeping Elizabeth laying on her and she was resting back herself. "Thank you for tonight, sorry it's been a bit dramatic…"

"Clara relax, we understand. I'm glad we could all sit down together too," James commented.

Adjusting herself slightly Clara nodded, "yeah, there's no point in being silly over it all anymore."

"We should probably get going, it's getting late. See you at work _next week_ ," Grace emphasised the last two words.

They carefully moved Lizzie back into her pram, "yeah yeah I know," she replied to her friend before looking down, "goodnight little one."

Once they'd said goodbye Clara slumped down on the sofa, "you struggled with him here didn't you?" Danny asked, sitting down.

"Nor did you, you looked defensive all evening," she grinned. "My knight in shining armour," Clara leant into him. "I do mean what I said, we should be able to sit in a room together."

"Mmm, but maybe wait a little while for the next one," he smiled. "Bedtime?"

"Definitely."

#-#-#-#

She was making her 3rd cup of tea of the morning but she was already bored. Daytime TV was not particularly exciting and she felt fine apart from being completely fed up. Clara gave up, grabbing her keys and heading out - just needing some fresh air. The park was quiet - kids at school or nursery, just the odd dog walker and a couple of mums with babies. She sat down on the bench by the lake and watched the ducks swimming peacefully, then something caught her eye. She stood up, walking round a little and sitting back down a few benches round. "You're not meant to be here," Clara spoke to the girl already sat there.

"Neither are you," Keziah shrugged. She was in her uniform, but knowing where she lived she probably hadn't made it to school.

"Fairpoint, don't tell Mr Pink he'll be mad - I'm supposed to be resting," she tried to lighten it up.

"Is the baby okay?" Keziah asked, "you were in a lot of pain."

"The baby is fine, I just have a bit of an infection which was causing the pain. Now why are you sat here?" Clara reassured her.

Keziah pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them, "don't want to see Mr Fenwick. He was a right jerk before and after you left. I really can't stand his lessons. He made it out like you'd just disrupted the lesson and it was an annoyance. He doesn't even teach us properly!" She was genuinely angry.

"You know despite what happened I was still assessing him yesterday, but another thing I noticed is how well you're doing. I'm not supposed to tell you this but I'm going to look into moving you up a group. I'll speak to Mr Pink I know you're doing pretty well in maths too. But pretend I didn't say that alright? As for Mr Fenwick, he's my problem, and from what I remember his lesson has passed now. Why don't we get you back to school?" she suggested.

"I'll be in so much trouble!" Keziah jumped up.

Clara stood up after her, "yes, but you'll be in less trouble than if you don't go in at all. I'll minimise it for you though. If you head in now it'll just about be lunch so I can give a few people a ring." It took a moment but Keziah nodded, "promise me?"

She looked up at her teacher, "I promise, thanks Miss."

Once Keziah had left the park Clara made a phone call to the head and Grace who was her form tutor to explain the situation. Once she'd hung up from them there was a message from Danny so she called him back. "Hey, how's work?"

"Fine, Keziah didn't show for maths - unlike her to be ill. How're you?" he asked.

Clara decided to ignore the comment about Keziah for now, not wanting a lecture about being out. "I'm fine, feel loads better already actually. I might go have a bath and relax in a bit actually."

"You outside?" Uh oh, the gust of wind had given her away.

"In the garden, needed some fresh air. There's a couple of drops of rain coming I'm going to get inside and have that bath, make sure you get something to eat mister," Clara stood up from the bench. "See you later," they said their goodbyes and Clara walked home and lay down on the sofa, immediately falling asleep.

#-#-#-#

"Hey love?" Clara opened her eyes to see Danny crouching beside her. "How long you been out?"

"Uh… well I was going for that bath…" she rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Guess I was tired," she shrugged. "Sorry I was going to sort dinner, I can make it now?"

"Don't be silly I'll sort it, I'll cook something up - why don't you go and have that bath now?" Clara nodded and smiled. "Go on, see you in a bit."

She gave in and went upstairs, ran a bath lying down and thinking about things, maybe too many things. There was a lot going on at the moment and it was running through her mind as she attempted to relax, rubbing her bump. "I love you little one, even if you are making my life difficult. Maybe you can make it up to me and sleep through the night when you're out okay? Promise?" There was a small kick, "that better have been a yes or you're in trouble." There was a chuckle outside the door, "I think Daddy is spying on us little one, I think that means dinner is ready."

"You're not wrong, but take your time I can keep it warm," he smiled and walked away.

When Clara got back downstairs the room was darkened with only candles lighting the area. "What… why…?"

"A treat, you deserve it," he smiled, "and there was a bunch of candles on offer when I stopped for ingredients." Clara chuckled, thanking him and sitting down. "So talk to me, where were you earlier? Yes I know you weren't in the back garden."

"Ah… Keziah…?"

"What about her?" he asked.

"Oh, not Keziah then-"

"Clara you're a rubbish liar, to me anyway," he grinned.

Blushing a little she told him "park. I just needed a bit of a break and fresh air. Sorry I shouldn't have lied…"

"I'm sorry you felt you had to, I'm just being overprotective. I don't like leaving either of you," he reached across and took her hand.

Clara smiled, "we miss you too, but someone needs to take control of that place while I'm not there. I mean honestly if it doesn't collapse in your two weeks paternity leave I'll be shocked." They both chuckled. "I can't wait for those two weeks though,"

"Me neither," Danny replied, "but we have a little longer to wait yet eh?"

"Yeah, I guess we do. Now can we finish eating because I'm starving."

#-#-#-#

Clara was thankful to get back to work and before she knew it Christmas had come round. "Quiet! I know it's the last day but you're in year 11 now and every lesson counts. If you can listen for another 20 minutes I'll put an episode of something on for the last half hour. However if you don't shut up then you'll have to listen to me for the whole lesson. That seemed to work. It was the last lesson of the day and as much as she enjoyed being back at work this week had been a challenge - something that being 7 months pregnant didn't help.

"Miss are you gonna give birth over the holidays?" one of the year sevens asked as the lesson came to an end.

"No Jas, still got 2 more months of cooking," Clara answered.

"But won't you be going on maternity leave?" Jas asked again.

"Not just yet, you'll have a few weeks of me after Christmas don't you worry," she glanced at the clock. "Alright you lot, run off a few minutes early and don't tell anyone."

It didn't take long for them to all disappear while she stayed sat down, rubbing her stomach, "ready for your first christmas? It's going to be special."

"I can't believe you bought them presents," Danny stood at the door.

Clara stood up and walked over to him, "this little one deserves the best. You know you love it really."

He leaned forward to be face to face with her, "I suppose so," he grinned and kissed her. "Come on, let's get home and decorate that tree."

An hour later they had nibbles out while they were decorating, dancing around to the music. After they finished they collapsed on the sofa, "4 days till Christmas, and it finally feels like it. In a years time we'll have this one too." Clara smiled and they linked hands on her bump. "Hey they know you're here, kicking away," she smiled. "Hot chocolate and an early night?"

"Sounds perfect," he grinned. "When did we become these people?"

"A long time ago and you know it. Come on, I'm knackered. Tomorrow - we bake."

#-#-#-#

Bake they did, cookies and cake alike. They messed about amongst it all, chuckling until suddenly Clara stopped. "Danny…" she looked down. "I think our plans are about to change…"

"Is that.."

"Yes, that's my waters. Danny it's 8 week early! What's happening?!" she started to stress.

He ran across the room, "calm down sweetheart, it won't help. Is there pain?" She nodded, unable to reply as a contraction came. "Right, hospital. Lucky you're a control freak and already have the bag ready eh? I'll give them a call on the way."

She was rushed up to be examined but there was still a way to go yet. "Why is this happening?"

"We're not sure just yet, but the baby is fine according to all our tests so just focus on that. We'll monitor you closely but if we can let this happen naturally we will," the midwife reassured her.

Danny kissed her head gently, "I love you, and I'm right here you know?"

"No kidding," she sighed and lay back. "Sorry, you might have to expect a bit of that for a while."

"I'd expect nothing less, do your worst," he grinned, making Clara smile. "That's better. Now listen to me, we are going to get through this together, all the way. You squeeze my hand and shout at me as much as you like because you've got the hard job here. This little one will be a fighter just like his Mum - I just know it. I'm so so proud of you."

"Alright enough of that, but thank you," she smiled and lay back. "I'm knackered already, I know you can keep me going. Just keep talking…"

A few hours later things were really getting going. It was the early hours of 22nd December and her contractions were getting closer together. "Danny… I feel weird…" she got out over the pain. "My head…"

He barely replied before he stood up and called for help, holding her hand and trying to reassure her after. "Her head's hurting, you know about-"

"Yes we know. Neuro are on speed dial I'll get them down now. Anything changes just press that button," the midwife explained and ran off.

"You're okay, you're going to be fine," he kissed her head.

The neurologist was there before they knew it with various equipment and started checking her over. "Alright there isn't anything worrying me much right now but we're going to hang around now. My registrar will be on the ward and I'll be on hand to run down. Is that okay?" Clara nodded as another contraction started. "Alright I'll leave you to it but don't be afraid to shout if there's any change."

Things were getting closer. Clara was pacing the floor now, breathing deeply. "If you'd like you just get moving and get out that would be grand," she spoke as she rubbed the bump. "I'm pretty much done now," she sighed.

"Come on, you're doing great love," Danny had been roped into walking with her so she could hold his hand.

"It doesn't-" she stopped. Danny immediately reacted and moved in front of her. He could tell this wasn't her usual, it was going on for too long, she started to fall…

He grabbed her and stopped her from hitting the floor hard, laying her down as she came to. Quickly pressing the alarm he went back to her as her eyes flicked open and the midwife and neuro reg ran in. "I'm going to listen to the baby," she knelt down. "Baby's fine, pretty ready to come I reckon but we need to get Mum round first to make sure she's okay.

"Mum is here you know," Clara spoke, "I'm fine, can I just get up off this floor it's really uncomfortable," she grabbed Danny's arm to get up. "Can you please stop fussing!"

"Clara that was worse than normal…" Danny looked worried.

"I'm having a HUMAN coming out of me of course it's going to be worse," she growled as another contraction started.

The midwife stood up now too, "do you mind if I just examine you? See where we're at?"

"Sure go ahead and stare up my gown," she said sarcastically, lying back down.

Danny mouthed a sorry but the midwife smiled, she'd had much worse. "Okay we're ready to roll, on the next contraction I want you to push okay?"

#-#-#-#

He was so tiny, their little baby boy. Clara barely saw him before they rushed off to NICU and once they'd delivered the placenta she lay back, tears falling. "Where is he? I need to see him, this is my fault."

"Clara it's not your fault, they're looking after him, just take a deep breath okay? You look knackered, rest your eyes," he squeezed her hand. "I love you."

Clara nodded, too tired to argue, she stared at the ceiling, trying to think rationally but it was difficult. Her little boy was so small, 3 pounds they said, he needed looking after. He sounded scared, she wasn't even sure how she knew but she did. Danny was holding her hand, rubbing it with his thumb, but she couldn't look down. It seemed like an age before anyone came back in, now she looked over.

"He's doing well," the midwife explained and both Danny and Clara breathed a sigh of relief. "They've got him in an incubator, but his organs seem to be working well at the moment which is a great sign. He'll need to be fed through a tube for a little while but you'll be able to feed him in a few weeks. Now, do you want to come and see him? He's a beautiful little boy and maybe you'll get some name ideas."

Danny pushed Clara up in the wheelchair in silence, both of them a little scared, but that fell away when they laid eyes on their son. After he'd put the brakes on Danny moved round, holding her hand, and crouching to look into the incubator at her level, "he's beautiful," he smiled, watching as their son wriggled his limbs around a little.

"What do you think? Names?" Clara asked, unable to tear her eyes away. "I like Ethan," she suggested.

Danny nodded, "sure, but what do you want to call the baby? Wait should I be jealous?" Clara rolled her eyes as soon as he spoke and hit him gently. "I like Ethan too, it suits him."

Clara leant into him a little, "Ethan it is. He's so beautiful, so small…" she managed to build up the courage to put her hand through the holes in the side, gently stroking his arm, "hey darling, you were keen to be out for Christmas hey? Cutting it a bit fine for presents though, but you won't be home then so maybe we'll have to have a second Christmas," she smiled as he made a small squeak. "Okay that's agreed then. You want to meet your Daddy?" Clara pulled her hand out and looked to Danny who put his in. They sat there together, just enjoying the time with Ethan.


	31. Chapter 31

Ethan was so small, but already seemed so happy. Despite still being in the incubator everytime Danny and/or Clara spoke he had a look on his face - he knew they were there. Christmas day came and went, they spent it at the hospital. Neither of them really felt like celebrating alone. Her Dad came down on Boxing day, Clara barely spoke to him, she couldn't stop watching Ethan. In fact other than Danny she barely spoke to anyone. "Let's nip home, grab a shower, get changed and have a decent meal."

"He knows when we're here, he'll know when we're gone," she held his hand through the hole.

Danny put a hand on her shoulder, "I know sweetheart, but there are lots of nurses looking after him and we need to look after ourselves to be able to look after Ethan."

He was right, but that didn't make it any easier to go. She eventually stood up, holding Danny's hand back to the car. They got home, walking into the Christmas decorations again. "Not exactly how we planned Christmas," Clara smiled a little.

"We'll have our own little celebration when Ethan comes home if that's what you want?" Danny suggested and Clara nodded. "You look absolutely shattered," he rubbed her arm.

"Do you think it'd be okay if we lay down for a few minutes?" she asked.

Danny could see she was giving in to the tiredness, "of course, they're looking after him." They went upstairs, laying down on the bed and it didn't take long for both of them to drop off.

90 minutes later Danny woke up, checking the time and seeing that Clara was still asleep. He smiled, leaving her on the bed and getting himself up, showering and changing. He phoned the hospital to make sure everything was okay - he told himself it was for Clara's benefit but it still felt strange being away from the hospital. He went downstairs and almost jumped when the doorbell went. Diverting from his route to the kitchen he opened the door, "oh Grace hi, sorry wasn't really expecting anyone."

"I was just on my way home and I saw the car in the drive. Is everything alright?" she asked.

Danny moved out of the way, inviting her in. They went through to the kitchen and put the kettle on. "Managed to persuade Clara to come home for a bit. She's asleep upstairs, really needs the rest," he explained. "Ethan knows when we're around now, makes it harder to leave, but I just phoned in and he's fine so I'll leave her for a little longer." Danny poured the teas and handed Grace hers.

"Thanks," she took the mug. "If you need anything you can always ask," she smiled and sipped her tea. "So everything's stable?"

"Yeah he's doing really well, they think he could be coming home by the end of January which is really good for a baby this premature apparently. I'm just… concerned," he glanced towards the ceiling, their bedroom being almost directly above the kitchen.

Grace nodded, "yeah I get you, just need to persuade her to come home occasionally."

"We spoke yesterday about it, I'm going to postpone my maternity leave until he comes home. I don't really want to leave him either but it makes more sense if I can be at home after, then we can do things together. I'm planning on going up after work, we'll come back for dinner. I want to persuade her to sleep at home then, certainly while he's being tube fed," he looked back down. "Sorry you didn't come over to hear all this."

"Well no but I don't mind, honestly. I worry about Clara too, that much we have in common," she smiled and finished up her tea. "I'd better get going."

"Without saying hello?" Clara was stood at the door, she'd been in the shower and changed, she looked a lot better, and kind of sexy. Danny shook his head, bringing himself back to earth as the two women hugged. "You okay over there?" Danny nodded.

Grace stepped back, "I can't stay, was on my way home anyway. Is it okay if I come say hi to Ethan tomorrow?"

Clara nodded, much to Danny's surprise, "he needs to meet his auntie."

"Great, see you tomorrow then. I'll text you in the morning," she smiled and left.

"You look really good, are you okay?" he asked, sort of confused.

Flicking the kettle on again Danny grabbed a mug while Clara stayed leaning against the door frame. "Yeah, you were right - I needed to sleep. You're also right, I can't be at the hospital all the time - for Ethan's sake."

"Why the sudden change in mind? And mood?" Danny handed her the tea and they sat down at the dining table.

Clara wrapped her hands around the mug, "I had a dream."

"That speech is taken," Danny pointed out, grinning. "Sorry, sorry carry on."

She couldn't help but smile a little despite trying to look annoyed. "In the dream I was so tired when I bought Ethan home that I couldn't look after him, I really messed up, you got angry and left… then I woke up."

He was still a little confused, "and that's put you in a good mood because?"

"Okay you're right but you're kinda slow," she chuckled. "I woke up scared, breathing heavily, sweating. I went straight in the shower and that's when I realised - you're right. I can't do a lot at the hospital right now except sit there. And I will, I'll be there as much as I can, but I need to come home, get things ready, get myself ready… we need to work together."

Danny reached over, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "That'll make this conversation a lot easier then." Clara looked intrigued, "when I go back to work I know you'll want to be there during the day, and I want to come after work - so here's the deal. I'll come straight over, but we leave at 7 and come home, have dinner, relax and sleep."

"That sounds like a plan," she agreed. "I promise I'll be careful, take breaks and that."

They finished their drinks and stood up, "let's go for a meal, my treat for being a nightmare," she smiled. "I'm starving."

#-#-#-#

A couple of weeks later and they were in some sort of routine. Danny had offered to drop Clara at the hospital but she told him she'd rather go in later and get some housework done so she saw him off to work and then made a start on tidying up around the house. She worked her way round the house, finishing the downstairs and heading up. She made the bed, dusting their room and letting some fresh air in. Once the bathrooms and the spare bedroom were done she went to the final room - the room for Ethan. Clara went in, smiling at the decoration that Danny surprised her with. She dusted the room over, straightening up the cot and airing the room. She sat down in the feeding chair and looked around the room, just wanting him home now but knowing it would be a while. "Right then, showtime."

Ethan seemed really active today, moving about in his little incubator. "Good morning, you must be Mrs Pink?" New nurse.

"Clara please, Mrs Pink is still weird," she introduced herself.

"My name's Lisa, they've filled me in. This little man is doing so well," Lisa smiled, "his obs are all really good this morning and he's very lively."

"Yeah he's my little miracle," Clara smiled down at him and he made a little noise.

"Someone knows his Mummy already, what a clever boy. I'll leave you be but any problems just call on me," Lisa left her with him.

Ethan kept wriggling around, she went to take her hand out for a moment but he grabbed her finger. Clara felt herself hold her breath for a moment, tearing up slightly. "You trying to play on Mummy's hormones?" she slowly breathed out. "Cheeky boy," she smiled, letting him hold on. "Shall we send a picture to Daddy hm?" Clara pulled out her phone and took it, sending it over with the caption ' _can't get away today :) x'_

Danny opened the message at lunch and smiled, "that's a look I've seen before. Picture from the hospital?" Grace came to the door and he turned the phone around. "Oh wow, you know they never let go after that, she's stuck there."

"I don't think she'd mind," he kept looking at the picture before realising, "oh, sorry I assume you came here for a reason." Danny put his phone down and looked up. "How can I help?"

"Well it's actually a big favour and I completely understand if the answer is no for many reasons," she started, "James and I were planning date night on Friday but the babysitter has let us down, is there any chance at all you could take Lizzy? We can pick her up after…"

"You don't need to look so nervous Grace, I'll speak to Clara but actually I think she'd quite enjoy it," he replied. "I'll let you know tomorrow?" They agreed and she left.

When Friday came round they left the hospital a little earlier than normal to get back home. "I'm considering tonight as a trial run," Clara told him. "Was work okay?"

"Yeah not too bad. Been a long week, missed you," he stopped her just as they were about to step inside and kissed her gently. "You sure you've been okay?"

Clara went inside, "absolutely, I've had a lovely little routine going on," she hung her coat up. "You can go change if you want, I'll make tea?"

"You're the best," he grinned, heading upstairs. Clara went into the kitchen to make tea, tidying up a few bits as she went. "I've never seen this place so tidy," Danny reappeared. "I left my shirt down here yesterday."

"It's back in the wardrobe," she replied without turning around as she was pouring the tea. He disappeared again for a few minutes before joining Clara back down on the sofa. "Tidying seemed like a good way to start the day before I go up the hospital, I'll admit I have sort of run out of things to tidy," she chuckled, leaning on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a little while, losing track of time until the doorbell went. "Mmm I was comfy," she sighed, putting her mug down and going to the door.

Grace looked about to fall over so Clara quickly grabbed a bag from her, "how long is she coming for again?"

"I wasn't sure what to pack… so I kinda packed everything. Sorry, it's probably a little overboard," Grace blushed as she came in. "You'd think I'd know by now, she is a year old."

"Still just as cute though eh?" Clara grinned as Lizzie leant out to her. "Just a sec baby," she put the bag down and took her. "You're gonna have a sleepover with us aren't you? Yes you are," Clara jiggled her up and down.

"Getting heavy isn't she?" Grace smiled, putting the other bits down. "Are you sure you don't want me to put the travel cot up?"

"Oh no it's fine Danny'll do it. You go, honestly we'll be fine. Have a good night, don't rush over in the morning," Clara winked, giving her a quick hug and kissed her cheek. "Go!" Grace took the hint and left.

"Mama go?" Lizzie looked back at the door confused.

"Yeah baby, but we're gonna have loads of fun," Clara told her, smiling at her. Lizzie started wiggling to get down. She'd started walking but only if holding on so Clara walked her through to the lounge. "Hey look there's Uncle Danny! Shall we go jump on him?"

"Yaaaaaa!" she squealed so Clara lifted her up and onto Danny's lap making a roaring noise as she did. Danny caught her, looking shocked while Lizzie giggled. "DanDan!"

"Hey how come he gets a name before me!" Clara sat down beside them, pretending to be miffed. Lizzie decided the way to fix this was to flop down, lying across them both. "Fair enough, that works. Good job we can order our dinner on the phone isn't it?"

A happy sounding noise came from Lizzie and she curled up on them, "guess someone's tired."

"Calm before the storm," Clara grinned. Do you want to order? My phone is in the pocket below baby."

"On it, if you can shuffle her your way I'll sort the cot too," Danny managed to escape.

Clara stroked Lizzie's hair gently, tiredness definitely having overwhelmed her. "You know how to be cute don't you?"

Lizzie mumbled a bit, "sleep now."

Her bedtime was coming up so it wasn't too surprising - except the willingness to go to bed. Clara felt her head to make sure she didn't have a fever. "Uncle Danny is just going to put your cot up and then we can get you to bed. Shall we find your PJs yeah baby? Come on then," Clara managed to get her balanced in one arm, Lizzie's head over her shoulder, while she opened the bag to get her PJs out. She also went for the changing mat and nappies. "Right then. Take one."

When Danny came back downstairs he found Clara keeping a half asleep Elizabeth entertained on the floor, clearly having just finished changing and dressing her. "Cot is ready," he smiled, watching them from the entrance of the lounge.

"Oooooo right then missy," Clara picked her up, "bedtime for you." There were no arguments while she carried her up and laid her in the cot. "Goodnight sweetheart," she bent down to kiss her head and turned the baby monitor on before leaving the room and going back downstairs.

"Dinner's about 15 minutes away. She okay? That looked surprisingly easy," Danny pointed out.

Clara sat down beside him, "it was, I'm trying to work out the catch."

Putting his arm around her Danny switched the TV on, "maybe you're just very good at this."

"We'll see how that's going in a couple of months yeah?" she leant against him. "I'm scared to bring Ethan home Danny, what if I mess it up? At the hospital all I need to do is hold his hand."

"Don't be silly, look at you with Lizzie, you managed to juggle her to get everything out, get her changed and to bed," he kissed her head. "You're a natural, you'll be incredible."

Clara didn't reply, she just lay back and focussed on the telly.

#-#-#-#

02:13 the cry woke her. She quickly turned the volume on the monitor down and took it with her into the spare room. "Hey what's up with you eh? Mummy said you sleep through," she walked over to the cot and picked up a crying Elizabeth. "Oh darling," she held her close. "Hey you're really hot," she felt her head. "Oh dear let's take your temperature shall we yeah?" Clara carried her downstairs, finding their first aid kit and getting the children's thermometer out, placing it under her arm. Once it beeped she took it out, "oh dear you are hot aren't you?" The thermometer read 38 degrees. "Alright sweetie, let's give you some calpol hey? Then I'll check you over."

It was a challenge but she managed to balance the still crying Lizzie and get the calpol ready and somehow get her to swallow it between cries. "Okay darling, let's go sit on the sofa yeah?" She kept trying to reassure her. Once they were there she took her night clothes off so she was down to her nappy and looked her over for a rash but thankfully there wasn't one. "RIght, let's get you some water in your bottle shall we?" she picked her back up and sorted that in the kitchen, going back to the sofa and trying to persuade her to drink. Eventually she calmed down enough to take it and drink though muffled sobs. "Good girl," Clara held her, pulling her hair back out of her face as she drank the water and began to settle. "There we go, that's better."

"Mama?" she asked quietly.

"Mummy's not here darling, but I'll keep you safe. Is that okay?" Clara checked with her, incase she did need to call Grace, but Lizzie seemed happy with her answer and curled up. "Ooo think we need to change you too don't we?"

As Clara changed her she started to get sleepy. She reached over and grabbed the thermometer again, quickly checking her temperature as she dropped off - the medication had done its job and Lizzie fell asleep.

Once she was certain Elizabeth was sleeping deeply, Clara picked her up and took her back to the crib, laying her down and slowly leaving the room, going back to bed. She climbed back in, it was almost half 3 now. "Where have you been?" Danny mumbled, but she just told him to go back to sleep and dropped back off.

At half 6 she woke again, hearing a few grizzles on the monitor. She went out and found Elizabeth sat up in her cot, holding her arms up. "Okay you, I guess we're up now huh?"

Lizzie leant into Clara, "oh you are mopey aren't you misses? Not like you at all," she kissed her head and took her downstairs. "We'll let Uncle Danny sleep, one of us needs to be awake today," she put the kettle on. Reckon I can put you down for a sec?" She went out to the changing mat and put her down, but the moment Clara stood up Lizzie protested, rolling to try and follow her. "I guess that's a no then," she picked her back up. "One handed working it is, suppose I'd better get some practice in."

She managed to make the tea, sit down and put the television on. Lizzie lay on her lap, sucking on the dummy that Clara had found and watching the childrens TV she'd put on. Clara checked her phone, constantly glancing down to Elizabeth to check she was still okay, keeping a hand resting over her for slight support.

"That looks thrilling," Danny came down about 8, "she doesn't look as lively as normal?"

Elizabeth responded to the new noise, looking up, but realising it was Uncle Danny she lay back down again. "Not very well are you baby?" Clara rubbed a thumb over her forehead. "Woke up about half 2, she had a lovely temperature. Went back to sleep after some calpol but woke up again about half 6 and now we are enjoying the clangers," Clara smiled.

"You should've woken me," he leant down and kissed her. As he stood up Danny noticed the empty mug, "refill?"

Clara smiled up at him, "thank you, you're a star."

She was still there at 11 when Grace came to collect her. Danny had tidied up around her, they'd managed to dress Lizzie but she didn't eat a lot, just drank water, and wouldn't let Clara put her down. "Hey," Clara smiled when she came in. "We've got a poorly girl here."

Grace sat down beside her, Lizzie was asleep again at the moment so she left her on Clara's lap for now. "What's happened? You could've called me-"

"We coped, wanted you to enjoy your night. Lizzie's had a bit of a temperature, Calpol bought it down. Gave her another dose 2 hours ago and she's slept on and off since. Doesn't seem to be in pain, I've moved everything around a bit. Probably just a 24 hour thing, generally mopey and clingy but she's not cried once someone's there," Clara explained.

Once she'd listened Grace nodded, "yeah I'm sure she'll be okay. I'm sorry she's kept you up love."

Clara shook her head, "no it's alright, honestly," she told her. "Right you," Clara looked down to Elizabeth and picked her up. She stirred, "Mummy's here."

"Mama?" she mumbled. Clara handed her over to Grace and a little smile appeared on Lizzie's face before she leant onto her shoulder.

"Let's get you home darling," Grace told her. Clara and Danny both helped with the bags. "Thank you so much for this, sorry it wasn't the most fun."

"You could argue it was easier than having to run her round the house," Clara gave Grace a hug. "See you soon."

Once she was back inside Clara went into the lounge to cleared up but realised Danny had already done it. She found him in the kitchen, "as much as I love how you look in your PJs I reckon you should change before we go to the hospital," he winked. "You okay?"

"Just a little tired, but not so bad. I'll go shower," she left him to finish up.

Once she'd had something to eat they went up to the hospital, walking in together. The midwife almost bounced over to them, "I've been waiting for you!" Lisa announced.

"If this is a surprise party then I've had better," Clara joked. They'd built up a bit of a rapport over the last few weeks.

Lisa chuckled, "no, but it is a nice surprise. Come on," they went over to Ethan's incubator and she unclipped the lid, lifting it up. Immediately Clara knew what was about to happen, she teared up slightly and grabbed Danny's hand. "You want to hold him?"

Clara nodded, "yes, please," she managed to get out.

"We need to be careful, all the leads need to stay attached so you can't move around, but you've got one strong boy here. Have a seat, I'll hand him to you," Clara sat down, Danny stood behind the chair and Lisa slowly picked up their little boy and placed him in her arms. "I'll give you a few moments, I won't be far away if you need me."

Lisa walked away and Clara looked down, almost unable to believe Ethan was in her arms. He was so small, so light, but he was right there. "Hey little one," she whispered to him, a little teary. "I'm your Mummy and I'm going to look after you, I love you so much. Shall we say hello to Daddy?"

Danny crouched down beside her, putting a hand out and Ethan grabbed his finger, "hey Ethan, how amazing are you? Strong just like your Mummy, she's pretty awesome you know?" He told his son. Both Clara and Danny meeting each other's gaze, smiling with tears in their eyes. They were finally a family. They had the same thought and Danny stood up, peeling Ethan's hand of his finger carefully and going over to Lisa. "Could you grab a picture?"

"Absolutely," she took his phone, walking over. Danny resumed his position and Ethan was quick to grab his finger again. Clara looked down at him, it was better than looking at the camera. Danny had the same idea and when they looked at the photo afterwards both of them teared up again. "Take your time," Lisa left again.

"Look a him, he's beautiful," Clara finally spoke again. "I love you Ethan Pink, and I always will."

"We both will," Danny smiled.

"Always," Clara added. "Now you want to have a Daddy hug? They're the best."

Between them they managed to move around without disturbing the wires. Clara excused herself to the loo for a moment leaving Danny with Ethan. "Now between you and me little lad, we need to look after your Mummy. She will always be the most important woman in your life whether you like it or not, and she cares for you greatly. Promise? Good."

"What you two talking about?" she asked on her return. "On second thoughts, I don't want to know. I'm just glad we have him."

"Me too love," he smiled. "We will always have each other."


	32. Chapter 32

**Happy happy happy!**

It was D-Day. Clara had been awake since 6 making sure everything was perfect. Danny woke 90 minutes later and found her reorganising the cushions on the nursing chair for the 6th time. "You know he won't mind which order they're in?"

"I know," she sighed and sat down in the chair. "I want everything to be perfect."

He knelt down beside the chair, taking her hand, "you've cleaned this house within an inch of its life, everything looks beautiful. All Ethan needs is his Mum and Dad and an endless supply of milk - that bit is definitely your area." Clara smiled a little, "that's better. I'll make a deal - you make tea while I get dressed and I'll cook up a decent breakfast when I'm down."

"Sounds like a fair exchange," she kissed him gently and let him go, standing up herself and going downstairs.

Once they'd eaten they made their way to the hospital, car seat in hand. Lisa was waiting for them on arrival and started taking them through the plan. Ethan had grown well - he'd had a mix of bottle and breast feeding for the last couple of weeks so there was no need to go over that. She went through all the things they needed to look out for and consider once they were home. Turns out premature babies were complicated. "Is that all okay?"

"Yeah that makes a lot of sense. Thank you so much for everything you've done," Clara thanked her.

"I'm going to miss having you around," Lisa smiled. "You've got a strong little lad there."

Clara hugged her and they said their goodbyes. She picked up Ethan now, rocking him a little in her arms, "you ready to go home?" she kissed his forehead before putting him down and strapping him in. Danny picked up the car seat and they made their way out. Once they left the building it started to feel real, they were finally taking their little boy home. Danny strapped the car seat in, Ethan was already starting to fall asleep. Clara got in to drive and waited for Danny to get in the passenger side. "This is happening."

"Yep, we finally get to be together as a family in our home," he reached over and took Clara's hand, squeezing it. "We've got 2 weeks together now, you ready?"

Clara looked over her shoulder, "absolutely," she smiled, leaning over to kiss him before she started the car and drove them home.

As soon as they were in she unclipped the car seat and picked Ethan up. He was awake again now, eyes wide and looking around at this new place. Clara smiled at his amazement, Danny appeared over her shoulder, grinning at Ethan. "Welcome home little man," he spoke, "you're going to get very well loved here you know," he dangled his hand out for Ethan to grab at. "How's Mummy?"

"Mummy's good, she could do with tea though," Clara replied. "Do you want to take him and I'll put the kettle on?" They managed to do a swap over and Danny sat down with Ethan while Clara made tea. She joined them on the sofa, curling her legs up under her to sit close, sipping at her tea carefully before focussing her attention on her son. "Peace won't last long young man, Grandad is coming to visit soon," she smiled.

"What time is he arriving?" Danny checked. Since her Dad had moved back to Blackpool they hadn't seen quite so much. Since he came down on Boxing Day they hadn't seen him at all, but this afternoon they were going to have a mini-Christmas to make up for the lost one. Clara and Danny hadn't opened anything themselves either. They'd taken the tree down, but left the (ever growing thanks to Ethan) pile of presents in the corner.

Clara checked her phone, "about 2 hours time - he said it'd be approximately half 2. Everything is ready for him," she clarified.

"Okay, I'll start preparing dinner in a bit," he replied.

"I can help, once this one's fed he'll drop off," she smiled down at Ethan. "You're a good little boy aren't you? Lisa say you've been sleeping through the night most of the time," she rubbed his forehead carefully with her thumb.

They stayed like that for the full hour and a half before Ethan started crying for food. "Right then mister, shall we give you to Mummy? This is her area," Danny chuckled. "I'll get started while you feed, didn't realise how much time had moved on."

"He's very distracting," Clara smiled and took him, preparing for him to feed and letting him latch on. "Also very greedy. Very clever though aren't you? Learnt to feed nice and quick," she spoke to him. He didn't really care what she was saying, but her voice seemed to keep him settled when he fed. "You're my little miracle," she smiled. "One day when you're bigger I'll have to take you to some special places, teach you about your history." Half an hour later he lay back, eyes closing as he relaxed back. "Good boy, let's lie you down shall we?"

They'd put a travel cot in the lounge to use downstairs so she lay Ethan down, rubbing his stomach a little to relax him before he dropped off. As if timed, there was a knock on the door when she finished and Clara went to open it. "Hello darling," Dave hugged her, "you look so much happier today," he spoke, kissing her cheek and going inside.

"Thanks, I am. Just finished feeding and he's dropped off so you'll have to wait for a hold I'm afraid. The next feed will be bottle though if you want to play," she smiled and took his coat.

"Doing both?" he questioned.

"Just for a little while now he's home as he's been used to a mix of both at the hospital, hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be able to get rid of the bottle," Clara explained. "How was the drive?"

They had a little chat between them - Dave sat at the dining table while Clara helped Danny out a bit and made her Dad tea. They were aiming for a full Christmas dinner arrangement so there was quite a bit to do. It didn't take too long, maybe an hour, before Ethan wanted in on the action. "Hey do you want to grab him Dad? I'll sort the bottle," she smiled and Dave went to pick him up.

"You look so nervous," Danny observed as Clara made the bottle up, continuously checking on her Dad and Ethan. "He's done this before you know?"

"I know I know, it's not that. Well it's partly that but it just hasn't quite sunk in yet," she explained. "I'd better go and give Dad this." That conversation was over for now.

Clara sat with her Dad as he fed his Grandson. She smiled, knowing how much this meant to him. It was a shame he lived so far away these days, but at least it would make these moments even more special. They both meant the world to her, all 3 of those in the house did. She was daydreaming, only coming out of it when Dave nudged her, "you okay?"

"Yes, sorry," she looked over to see Ethan was still going. "Hungry little boy," Clara smiled down at him.

Dave smiled. "I'm very proud of you sweetheart, I know it's been hard with him being early but you're doing a great job."

"He's only been home a few hours, hold that thought for awhile," she replied. "There's a lot to think about, we have to be really careful." Clara sighed. "I don't want to screw it up."

"You won't," Dave replied very quickly, "I've known you all your life and I know you won't." Clara smiled, he was too good to her. Ethan finished feeding and immediately started grizzling. "Oh um-"

Now she chuckled, carefully taking Ethan from him as her Dad was the one looking scared, "he just needs winding," she got him resting on her shoulder and started to pat his back. "Always needs winding after a bottle feed don't you kid," she smiled as the telling noise came by her ear. "Much better," she moved to hold him in her arms. "Doesn't look like he's dropping back off this time. Can you see if Danny needs any help? I feel bad for leaving him this long."

Turned out Danny was doing a great job and dinner was soon served. Clara put Ethan down but he wasn't having any of it. She ended up having to take the cot over to the table, having him directly beside her so she could frequently hold him. "This is really good thank you Danny," Dave told him. "So you off now?"

"Yeah, it made sense to delay it. 2 weeks with my family, and then it's half term too. It was always a hope anyway with the due date," he pointed out. "Glad he's home."

Clara finished up her plate and picked Ethan up again, "we're very excited to have Daddy around aren't we?" she looked down at him but he started crying. "Alright well one of us is," she chuckled.

"Charming!" Danny pretended to look annoyed. Clara smiled back at him, mouthing that he needed changing and disappearing. "You want anymore?"

"Oh no that's plenty," Dave replied. "I always look forward to your cooking."

"Too kind," Danny started to gather the plates up. "Mind giving me a hand?"

They started on the washing up while Clara changed Ethan. By the time she came back down they were serving up the Christmas pudding. "Sorry, he wanted a top up. Sleeping now," she waved the baby monitor at him before clipping it on her waist. Can I help?"

"We are just about there, go sit," her Dad told her and Clara wasn't going to argue. They ate up dessert and sat back, "well now I'm full."

"That was so good," Clara smiled, "thank you." She reached across and took Danny's hand.

"Let's be honest, you did the hard work," he grinned, squeezing her hand.

Dave cleared his throat, "I'll give you a minute," he piled up the bowls and went into the kitchen.

Clara leant over and rest her head on his shoulder, "this has been lovely," she looked up and kissed him gently.

"Oh we've barely started," he nodded in the direction of the presents. "I mean, I know 90% of them are for him upstairs but there's a couple of special ones in there." Danny stroked her hair. Unfortunately they were soon interrupted by a cry over the monitor. "You want me to go?"

"Yeah go for it, I'll help Dad," she stood up and gave him the monitor before going to the kitchen.

#-#-#-#

They opened the mountain of presents for Ethan, he was far more entertained by the paper so they put the bits to one side, most of which were actually more useful for them than him of course. "I didn't even know half of these things existed," Clara chuckled. "This baby thing will be a breeze now." Ethan squeaked in her arms, "exactly. We're a team you and me." Danny cleared his throat, "oh and Daddy too. He's like the Robin to our Batman."

"Oi!" he started.

"What you gonna do about it? I have the baby," she winked.

"Nah, you don't get to use the baby as a defence," Danny argued.

Clara looked down at Ethan, "is it alright to use you so Daddy doesn't beat me up?"

"Look you give him food of course he's going to be on your side. This is not a fair argument," he pointed out.

"I don't know whether I should be concerned about this…" Dave chirped in.

Clara reached forward and grabbed a present for him, "bribery to keep quiet," she told him and handed it over.

Dave opened the gift, "an iPad? I can barely work my phone."

Danny chuckled, "I did say that."

"I've got 24 hours to give you a crash course. It's so we can video call, then you can see Ethan more," she explained. "I mean we could do it on your phone but it's bigger."

He smiled, "that's perfect. You know I'll come down as much as I can but-"

"Linda," Clara replied. "It's okay Dad, I know. This is just a solution to a problem, I want Ethan to grow up knowing his Grandad, regardless of how often you can get here."

Dave hugged her as best they could with Ethan and Clara and Danny mutually decided to leave their presents to each other for now, especially as their son was in need of another feed. "I can't wait till these slow down," Clara commented. "I don't really mind obviously but you know what I mean."

"Bet you can't wait for the night feeds," Dave replied.

Clara chuckled, "well he was sleeping through the night at the hospital, but I don't know that will be the same here."

"I guess there's only one way to find out," Dave smiled.

"Is that why you're not staying here?" Clara questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Dave rolled his eyes, "you know it's not."

Clara smiled, "I know, we appreciate it really," she smiled, leaning against him.

Danny intervened, taking Ethan from her so she could be a little closer to her Dad. Dave put an arm around Clara who looked tired, allowing her to relax. They put the TV on as some background noise but it wasn't long before Dave saw his daughter drop off. "I'm guessing she didn't sleep much last night?"

"I woke up to find her tidying the nursery for the 10th time this week, I don't know how much she slept before that. I'd hoped she might have one more good night's sleep before he came home but I guess not," Danny explained, now holding a sleeping Ethan but deciding not to put him down.

Dave nodded, "well at least she can have a bit of a rest now."

They sat like that for quite a while as Clara slept. Danny bottle fed Ethan when he woke and he was now asleep again in the cot. "Are you sure you're okay there?" Danny checked with Dave who nodded, "I'll stick the kettle on then."

#-#-#-#

Clara woke up about 8 and sat up, looking a little confused. "Hey sleepy," Dave smiled. "Danny's just nipped out to pick up something - he didn't specify. Ethan's asleep," he explained. "How are you feeling?"

"A little confused? When did I fall asleep?" Clara asked, stretching.

"You looked tired, Danny took Ethan off you and you fell asleep almost immediately. He's been fine, you looked like you needed it," he smiled. "Can I get you anything?"

"No I'm okay," she stood up and walked over to the cot, watching Ethan sleep. Dave went off to the kitchen while she did and then Danny came home. She didn't notice immediately, he came over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, pulling flowers from behind him. "Is that where you went? They're beautiful."

"A present for my beautiful girl for bringing my beautiful boy into the world," he kissed her gently. "I love you."

"Love you too, thank you so much," she smiled.

Dave reappeared now. "Tea is brewing in the pot for you, I'm going to take off now. It's been a lovely day, I'll see you tomorrow." He said his goodbyes and them to it.

Danny sorted out the flowers and poured the tea, joining Clara back on the sofa as she fed Ethan again. "Hungry hungry boy," she smiled down at him. "Pretty sleepy, I'll put him down after this."

"Changing mat teamwork?" Danny asked and she nodded. Once Ethan had finished they made their way upstairs and between them got him changed and into the got, both leaving goodnight kisses before leaving their bedroom again. He was to sleep in there overnight for now, just for a few months. "How are you doing?"

"Not so bad, he fed and slept, nothing abnormal," she linked her arm around his waist as they walked back down to the living room.

He squeezed her gently, "I meant in yourself, I can see how Ethan is."

They sat down on the sofa together and Clara curled her legs up, "I'm alright honestly. Now when do I get my present?"

"Right, present," he stood up and picked up the leftover presents on the floor, bringing them back and handing hers over. Clara opened the paper carefully and took out what was inside.

There was a smile on her face, "oh wow its beautiful, matches his bedroom!" He'd bought a cloth sling for carrying Ethan, patterned with various animals. "Thank you, I want to be able to carry him close," she screwed the paper up.

Danny smiled, "oh and there's this too," he reached behind the sofa where he'd hidden it earlier, pulling out the small present and giving it to her.

"Hang on I thought we agreed on one present," she pointed out.

"And I wasn't just going to get you a piece of cloth," he chuckled in reply. "Open it go on." She did as asked, throwing the paper at the bin as she went this time. A small box was inside and she opened it carefully. Inside were two pieces of jewellery, the first was a gold ring with diamonds around it - an eternity ring. That was enough to make her gasp. The second was a necklace, obviously some kind of locket which she carefully opened to find a small photo of Ethan on one side and one of her Mum on the other. "Then you can have them both close at all times," Danny explained. "Oh, and the ring kind of is more as a symbol of Ethan's arrival than it is a Christmas present but I knew you'd shoot me if there were 3 seperate presents."

Silence fell over the room for a moment as Clara processed it all. "I don't understand, I don't deserve this-"

"Clara don't you ever, ever say that. You deserve the world - I can't give you that but I hope these are the next best thing," he leant over and kissed her gently. "Want me to put them on?" Clara nodded slowly, watching as he took the ring out and slid it on her finger in front of her wedding and engagement rings. After that he took the locket and moved around behind her, latching it together around her neck before tracing his hand around her neck and sitting back down.

"Thank you," she almost whispered. "Go on, open yours now then."

Danny nodded and did so. "Oh wow it's gorgeous," he looked at the rolex watch inside. "I never told you mine broke did I?"

"You stopped wearing it," Clara pointed out. "Check the back."

He turned it over and read the engraving. It had their names with the date of their wedding and Ethan's name with the date of his birth. "How-"

Predicting the question Clara responded, "I had to unwrap the thing to get it added," she chuckled. "It just seemed appropriate."

"It's perfect, thank you," he hugged her. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas."

#-#-#-#

2am, the third time she'd been up that night. Danny had woken up too for the previous episodes but somehow slept through the cries this time while she whisked him out to the nursery. There was very little he could do anyway, Ethan was hungry once more. She fed him, but this time he didn't want to settle after and refused to be put down. "Oh dear what's wrong eh? I'm not going anywhere now, you're home and safe." Clara kissed his head and rocked him gently. He began to settle but started screaming again the moment she tried to put him down. "Tell you what, let's sit down shall we?"

Clara managed to get them down on the nursing chair, although balancing it was interesting. She lay back in the chair, lying Ethan down on her chest and supporting him as he lay there, now silent apart from his breathing. "Better now are we? Good boy," she watched as his eyes slowly closed. She tried to move and take him back but he began to stir again so that plan was aborted. "Alright, new plan," she looked around and suddenly something clicked. The cloth sling Danny had bought was on the table beside her. She took it out, somehow managing to organise it without waking Ethan. He was now secure against her, sleeping with a hint of a smile on his face. She watched for a while, reclining back in the chair, her arms resting as support for Ethan and she slowly dropped off.

Maybe 2 or so hours later, she had lost track of time now, he woke again. Immediately Clara jolted, the movement causing him to cry louder. "Oh I'm sorry darling, you're safe I promise," she stood up to move around with him. "I know it's weird and different here, but its your home, your room. See all the animals?" Clara walked over to the wall and started pointing them out. The more she spoke the more he calmed and they were onto the elephant now.

"Normal 5am activities?" Danny came to the door of the nursery. "I woke up and you weren't there. Is everything okay?"

"Unhappy little man," she kissed his head. "Won't let me put him down now. We had a little sleep in the chair but that wasn't enough either," she explained. "Are you okay?"

Danny nodded, "did you want me to take him for a bit so you can sleep?" Clara went to protest, "that wasn't really a question."

"Alright," she unwrapped the sling and handed Ethan over. "You going to have some fun with Daddy now? You'll have lots of fun." Once Danny had his son in his arms Clara kissed him gently, thanking him and going back to bed.

Danny sat back down with Ethan, "now young man, you've been keeping Mummy up and I don't think that's a good idea do you? She gets all grumpy when she's tired you know? We have to look after her to make sure that doesn't happen." When he looked down, his son was asleep. "Fair enough, we can do that too."

#-#-#-#


	33. Chapter 33

So they had established that Ethan was certainly not planning in sleeping through the night anytime soon, but they got used to it. They decided to split the night feeds in the end, or rather Danny persuaded Clara he could help out. It was Saturday, 7 days after he had arrived home, and their routine was so set in stone that they barely had to converse about what to do.

"How are we getting on young man?" Clara balanced him in one arm while she tidied up the living room a bit. "You're being very good today for Mummy. Daddy thinks he's the one out having fun but we're having fun aren't we?"

Of course he didn't reply but he seemed far more content today than he had been and certainly seemed to be used to the new scenery now. He was also putting on weight like a charm, almost starting to look a little chubby cheeked now. Clara was proud at how well they were all coping and incredibly relieved that they had worked everything out. She sat down with him - something else she was getting better at. "You beautiful boy, you're so observant," she smiled down at him and kissed his head. He always made a little disgruntled face when they did that which would make them laugh, and their laugh made him happy so it worked out in the end.

A knock at the door distracted her from their moment. "I've just sat down that's very mean," she commented and stood up to go to the door. "Grace hey! You didn't say you were coming round did you?"

"No don't worry it's not baby brain. James is away this weekend so I thought I'd bring Lizzie over for a play date. I mean I know Ethan isn't exactly playing but-"

Clara interrupted her at that point, "I gotcha. Come on in! Hey Lizzie!"

"Carrrr!" her goddaughter hugged Clara's legs. That was as far as Elizabeth had got with her name so far but they were working on it. "Baby?" Managing to lean down Clara introduced Ethan to her. "Cute!" was the reply.

"Cute is her new word, but at least we've got the right context now," Grace chuckled. "How are you getting on?"

"Surprisingly well… didn't get off to the best start but we're doing okay. This one is very clingy, don't get much downtime at the moment do we?" Clara stood up carefully and jiggled him a little, making him smile and gurgle. "Yes, exactly," she smiled back at him. "Cheeky chappy."

Grace guided Lizzie into the lounge - she could walk but sometimes her sense of direction was questionable. "He is beautiful, you seem to have everything vaguely under control so that's good to see. I know it's not that easy," she added.

"Far from it. If I put him down at all he just screams to high heaven so I'm doing everything one handed," she sighed slightly. "We're getting there, Danny is being so good I'm lucky really."

"Remember if you ever need to let off steam I'm at the end of the phone. Motherhood isn't as easy as the world leads you to believe," Grace reassured her. "Right, now we've had the serious talk let me make tea and we can have a quick gossip about our colleagues," she grinned.

Clara thanked her, sitting on the sofa with Ethan and somehow managing to help Elizabeth up to sit beside her. She kept talking away to herself, mostly gibberish but perfectly happy. Ethan suddenly decided he wanted food and that left Clara feeding once more. She shut her eyes gently just for a second, thinking over what Grace had said. Everything was as okay as it could be, but hardly picture perfect. The house was pretty messy as she rarely had a free hand to do anything much. The tiredness was almost overwhelming, and honestly her arms were aching sometimes. But would she change any of it? Probably not.

"Thought you were about to drop off then," Grace interrupted her through process. "That would be impressive during a feed."

"Nah just thinking, thanks for the tea," she smiled.

Grace joined her on the sofa, putting an arm around Lizzie who quickly decided she wanted to get off and check out the bag of toys her Mum had bought with them. "Yours is clingy and all mine wants to do is explore," Grace chuckled. "So where has Danny run off to then? "

"Catch up with his mates. He used to see them every fortnight but this is the first time since Ethan was born, he won't be too long," she explained.

"You're not that happy about it," Grace pointed out. "I've known you a long time Clara."

Clara sighed, "I'm not thrilled, but it's not like he wouldn't do the same for me."

"Except you have no plans?" she questioned.

"Well no but that's my decision. I don't want to leave him," she looked down. Ethan had just finished feeding so she rearranged herself and carefully leant him on her chest to pat his back.

Grace waited for her to organise things before replying. "You know Danny probably doesn't either? But being stuck in the house most of the time isn't going to help either of you."

There was a small nod from Clara but very little response otherwise. Grace could see something in Clara she recognised from her early days as a mother and she was determined to help her friend before she got to the point where Grace herself had ended up. Clara didn't know about that, and she wasn't planning on telling her in fear of scaring her friend. There was a period of around 10 weeks where Grace barely saw anyone, including Clara, while her mood dropped. Elizabeth hadn't always been as good as everyone saw, and James was trying but he had to work. Thankfully she'd got through it, but she also wouldn't let her best friend fet to that point. "Right, let's go for coffee next week after I've finished work. I'll pick you up, we'll be a couple of hours max. Danny will cope, you won't be far away and James can look after Lizzie for me. I'm not taking no for an answer, but I will let you pick the day."

"I…" Clara was a little taken aback, "okay. Tuesday?"

"Tuesday it is. I'll get it sorted. Now, back to the gossip," Grace smiled and they got back to chatting about their colleagues.

Time passed on, Elizabeth fell asleep on her Mum and Ethan on his while they chatted. "Maybe we're just really boring?" Clara suggested.

"Quite possibly. At least sat down you can rest him against you though," Grace pointed out.

"I quite like sitting like this, it's relaxing," she smiled. "He's so small it scares me sometimes."

While they were chatting Danny arrived home. He came over and kissed Clara gently, checking everything had been okay. Immediately offering to make tea, he went into the kitchen and Grace made some excuse about going to help him, carefully moving Elizabeth off her lap and going through. "Oh, I'm alright to make tea you know?" Danny pointed out as Grace shut the door behind her.

"I have no doubt about that," she replied. "I'm forcing Clara to come for coffee next week, I hope that's okay?"

"Oh yes absolutely, she needs to get out too. I can cope for a few hours, hopefully she'll let her hair down a little," he smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem, I'll try and persuade her to make it a regular thing," Grace smiled. "How are you doing?"

Danny filled the teapot and put the lid back on, grabbing a tray to put the mugs on. "I'm alright, but I have to go back to work in 2 weeks and I just hate the thought of having to leave Clara for most of the day," he glanced back to the kitchen door. "We have a routine now, but when I'm not here she'll have to do everything alone…"

The concern was evident in his face and Grace could understand why having spoken to Clara herself. "We just need to support her. We've got 2 weeks to come up with a plan and in the meantime just enjoy the time you have together."

Danny smiled, "you're good. Thank you."

"I do have pretty good experiences to base the advice on," Grace grabbed hers and Clara's cups of tea before going out to the lounge. "How's little man? Want me to take him for a sec?"

Ethan had woken and was happily sucking on his dummy laying on Clara's lap. "It's worth a shot," Clara picked him up and stood up carefully, "you want to see you auntie Grace?" she kissed his forehead softly. "She's pretty cool."

There was a sense of anticipation in the air as Clara handed Ethan over. None of them were entirely sure how he was going to react. His face scrunched up in confusion for a moment, there was a short grizzle but he quickly seemed to settle. Lizzie started grizzling instead however, clearly wanting some of the attention so Grace managed to shift Ethan and take Elizabeth's hand. "I'll give you guys a minute," she told Clara and Danny, heading upstairs.

Danny put an arm around her, "you really okay?"

"Yes. No. Maybe?" she looked up at him. "I don't know. I'm happy, I'm really happy but it's so hard. I don't want to screw up."

He kissed her gently, "I know, neither do I, but you're doing an incredible job and we make a great team. We've got 2 weeks together and after that we will work something out. You're an amazing Mum."

Clara smiled softly, "I've got an awesome partner in crime," she nudged him gently. "Thank you." She sipped her tea, "don't you think it's weirdly quiet up there?"

"Yes it is… want me to check?" Danny asked. Clara nodded, glancing upstairs a little as he went. She stood up herself, stretching her legs for a moment or two.

Danny went upstairs and into the nursery where he found Grace on the nursing chair with Lizzie asleep on her lap and Ethan sleeping in her arms. "We had a quick nappy changing session and here we are. Don't worry I'm good, you guys take more time if you want."

"You don't have to honestly, if you need to take Lizzie home-"

"Shut up and spend some time with your wife. Rule number 1: never say no to free babysitting. Elizabeth will be here for a little while so go on," she told him. "If it makes you feel better then grab the monitor and I'll call you if I need you." Danny nodded, grabbing the monitor off the side and waving it while he thanked her.

When he got back down it took a moment to hunt Clara down to the garden. He grabbed her coat off the side and went out, putting it over her shoulders. "Sorry I just needed some fresh air," she spoke when she noticed him. "Ethan-"

"Is asleep on Grace, she is currently underneath children and happy to stay there for a few minutes. You not cold?" he checked.

"No I only just came out, thank you though," she pulled the jacket round her a little more and leant into him, "it's nice to have 2 minutes to breathe."

Danny smiled, rubbing her side, "you're incredible, 2 minutes is perfectly allowed."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," she grinned and kissed him. "You look cold, let's get back inside and we'll warm up on the sofa while we have a babysitter hanging around."

#-#-#-#

As promised Grace was on her way over to pick Clara up. She read the text while trying to calm down a rather upset Ethan. He'd been moody all day and they'd been taking it in turn to deal with the crying episodes. Most of the time he just dropped off, making himself tired, but this time he seemed to have some more energy going. "He doesn't want to settle," Clara sighed when Danny came back in with one of his toys. She was walking round the room, rocking him slightly in the hope of something working.

"Maybe he's picking up on your stress," Danny suggested. Clara looked up, a hint of anger in her face. "Clara you've been on edge all day about going out tonight."

"Yeah well maybe I shouldn't be going," she sighed and kept walking.

"I will push you out of that door if I need to. We'll cope, and you're just winding yourself up about it all," he was quite frank with her. He knew she didn't like it but it was the only way to get through to Clara when she was like this.

He was ignored for a while other than Clara taking the toy from him to dangle at Ethan. She kept talking to him but the more she did the more upset she got and Danny was grateful for the knock on the door. She didn't seem to have even noticed so he went and answered, letting Grace in.

Immediately hearing the cries Grace shut the door behind her, "I know it's a stupid question but… is everything okay?"

Danny ran let out a sigh, "no, really not. We need to get Clara out the house. Ethan's not in a good mood today, obviously, but I think he's picking up on her stressing about going out without him which is just making everything worse."

She nodded, "alright. I'm on it, we'll do it the hard way if needed." Grace placed a reassuring hand on his arm before walking through to the lounge. "Right, no excuses, let Danny take Ethan I need coffee and cake." Clara didn't answer, focussing on Ethan. Grace looked over and nodded at Danny who walked over to them. "Come on, I'm not leaving without you I need advice."

"Clara just let me take him, we'll be okay I promise. I'm his Dad I'm not a stranger," he told her. "I wasn't lying when I said I would push you out of that door, please don't make me." Ethan's crying only got louder now. "This is just upsetting him more sweetheart…"

"Fine," Clara handed Ethan over. "Good luck, enjoy," she grabbed her bag and went for the door. "Are you coming then?" she asked Grace and walked outside.

Danny mouthed a sorry to Grace who just shook her head and followed Clara out. They both got in the car in silence and only once the door was shut did Grace lock the doors and turn to her. "Get your head in the game Clara, what was that?"

Silence held in the car for a few moments. Clara stared out of the window back at the house so Grace gave up and started driving off. Half way through the journey Clara finally spoke. "I couldn't stop him crying."

Grace nodded, "I know. He was really upset but you must know part of that would have been down to your stress about leaving him. Danny was right."

"He often is," she mumbled.

Once she'd parked up, Grace turned the engine off and looked over at her friend. "Maybe I'm speaking out of turn here, but it might be worth listening to him? He's only trying to help Clara and you're in this together."

"I know," Clara replied, still looking out of the window. "I don't know what to do Grace, I feel like I'm getting everything wrong and soon I'm going to be doing it on my own for a significant amount of the day," she teared up. Grace immediately jumped out of the car, going round and opening the passenger door and crouching down to get to her level and almost forcing her to make eye contact.

"How long have we known each other?" she asked.

Clara shrugged, "too long?"

Rolling her eyes Grace replied, "sarcasm even in your worst moments," she chuckled. "Long enough for you to trust me right? I mean, ignoring the sleeping with your fiancé bit but we're over that now…"

"Just get to the point Grace," Clara immediately shoved that topic aside. "Yes I trust you."

"Then trust me when I say that you do not have to go through this alone. You have Danny, you have me and your Dad is always on the end of a phone. I know the prospect of Danny going back to work is terrifying but he'll be home as much as possible and I will make sure you get out, we won't let you fail," Grace told her. Clara took a deep breath and nodded, "so you ready for tea and cake?"

There was a small smile as she finally agreed and stood up, "the answer to any problem."

An hour later and the mood had completely changed. They were chatting and laughing over their tea and Clara felt like she was properly relaxed for the first time since Ethan had been born, maybe even before then. "I can't believe Henry even tried to do that, my gosh how am I even related to that man?"

"Thankfully only by marriage because you are in no way alike thank goodness," Grace chuckled. "Honestly he's a cheeky sod there's no way I'm letting him nuzzle in like that. I've grabbed Georgia on board instead before he could get a word in."

"Knew I could rely on you," Clara chuckled. "I'm sure I'll get it all in the ear when I'm back but I honestly couldn't care less."

"Good, he deserves your wrath," Grace winked and Clara rolled her eyes. "You only give it out when it's deserved."

Clara sipped on her tea, "speaking of which, how's my favourite pain in the neck?"

Grace had to stop herself from spitting her mouthful of tea out, finally swallowing it before replying. "Oh David? He's great, I'm so glad you've gone on leave early so I get to deal with him instead," she smiled sarcastically.

There was a smirk on Clara's face when she replied, "well you enjoy that. Not my problem," she shrugged.

"Wait I came here for advice," Grace pointed out.

"Okay, watch him closely and get Keziah moved out of his group she needs to go up a set. That good enough?" Clara suggested. "Want more tea?"

With only one answer to that question Clara went up to order another lot of tea for them. Grace checked her phone to see a message from Danny.

 _Ethan's settled. We're fine. If Clara's okay then try and keep her distracted as long as you can, she needs to relax. Thank you for all your help x_

There was another message from James with a small video of Elizabeth playing with some saucepans.

 _It's the little things ;) Hope you're having a good time. X_

When Clara returned with the tea she noticed Grace smiling at her phone. "You okay?"

"Oh yeah, just James teaching his daughter bad habits," she put it away. "Pretty much what Dads are there for."

Clara smiled, "mmm good at all the naughty stuff. That's just a general man thing." She sat down. "How is James dealing with the Dad responsibilities then? I've never really asked."

"I never really expected you to," Grace pointed out. "But yeah, he's doing okay. I think it daunted him a little at first, he was so used to working all hours and it took a lot of effort to make him see he needed to spend more time at home. He's devoted to Lizzie now though, almost too much sometimes she's very spoilt by her Daddy."

Chuckling, Clara nodded, "I'm not surprised really. I reckon Danny will be the same with Ethan," she sipped at her tea. "I never quite pictured James as a Dad, I guess after where our relationship had got to it just didn't occur to me," she shrugged. "I'm pleased for you two, I really am. The way things came around weren't great but we're both happy now."

Grace smiled, "yeah I guess we are," she checked her watch. "Okay just a suggestion - why don't we go and grab dinner? I know we've had cake but you know… just a quick something?" She watched Clara thinking this over, completely unsure how she was going to answer.

"Maybe I should ring Danny…"

"He'd have rung if he needed you love, you know that," Grace tried, but she wasn't going to push her too hard. They'd already been out almost 2 hours.

She sat back, holding her tea and drinking it slowly. It was nice to be out and Danny hadn't rung or even text which probably was good news, "alright, yeah let's go. I'll just drop him a text and let him know." That seemed like a good compromise, and they both finished off their tea before they made their way for dinner.

#-#-#-#

When they got home it was almost 8. Grace turned the engine off when she pulled up outside her house. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah I really think I am," Clara smiled, "thank you for tonight. You're right, please make me do this regularly or I might go insane."

"What are friends for if not dragging their other friends away from their screaming baby?" Grace grinned.

Clara smiled, "I'm very lucky. I'll see you next week," she got out the car and waved as she went in the door.

There was complete silence in the house and she eventually found her boys upstairs in their room. Ethan was asleep in his cot and his Daddy was lying on the floor beside it holding an elephant, a bee and a lion. She smiled a little at the sight and knelt down beside him, rubbing his shoulder a little. He jumped slightly but smiled when he saw Clara. "Hey you," she whispered. "You look done in."

"Thanks you look pretty bad yourself," he replied as he stood up. "I'm joking you look radiant, and I'm okay." They made their way out of the room and downstairs. "Good night then?"

"Really lovely. I'm sorry about earlier, you were right I was probably stressing him out," she hugged into Danny gently. "Thank you for intervening. Was everything okay?"

Danny nodded, "he settled about half an hour after you left. Slept for a bit, woke up for a feed, repeated that another time and added in a nappy change for good measure and he's slept ever since."

"With assistance from those three?" She pointed at the toys still in his hand.

They both laughed a little, "yes he was a little moody after said nappy change but we got there. And you don't need to apologise either, we're going to have our ups and downs through all this it's fine."

Clara kissed him lightly as a thank you and went to the kitchen, flicking the kettle on. Danny went in and turned if off again, opening the cupboard above and pulling out the wine, "I think we deserve a glass."

"You read my mind," she grinned. "I'll go flick the TV on."


	34. Chapter 34

" _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine_

 _You make me happy when skies are grey_

 _You'll never know dear, how much I love you_

 _Please don't take my sunshine away…"_

Danny stood at the door out of sight, listening to his wife singing to their son to sleep. He dropped off with her singing and Clara lay him down carefully, backing out of the room so she kept her eye on Ethan until she closed the door to. Danny had moved to lean against the wall, smiling at her. "I love hearing you sing."

"The main thing is that he does," she blushed a little and they went downstairs. "It's my secret weapon."

"I'm not complaining," he caught her and kissed her gently. "How are you feeling about tomorrow?"

Clara stayed in his grasp, "mmm a little better right now," she smiled.

"That is not what I meant," he let go and gave her a more serious look.

"I'm okay, honestly. I know you have to go back to work and Ethan's getting better. I'm getting pretty good at doing everything one-handed anyway," she chuckled and put the kettle on. "Are you sorted for going back?" Danny paused, "I didn't think so. Go and sort yourself out while I make tea."

While the kettle boiled she stared out of the window. In all honesty, she was absolutely terrified for tomorrow - the thought of doing a whole day on her own with no help was scaring her. What if it was a bad day? What if he wouldn't stop crying because his Dad wasn't around? There was nobody to call on - all her friends worked at the school. How was she going to cope if she didn't sleep much tonight? There were so many questions.

She made the tea, still thinking about it all and completely unaware of when Danny came back down. "What you thinking about?" he asked, making Clara jump and drop the teabag she was taking out. "Oops, sorry," he picked it up for her, cleaning up the mess. "Question still stands."

"Oh, nothing much really. Just trying to decide if there's anything I should get done now while he's down," she stirred in the milk and put it back in the fridge.

"You have done the whole house twice today, just relax for a few minutes and then we can get to bed, promise?"

"Promise."

#-#-#-#

 _A dream is a wish your heart makes,_

 _When you're fast asleep,_

 _In dreams, you lose your heartaches,_

 _Whatever you wish for, you keep…_

"You're being so good for Mummy today," she whispered as he dropped off and she was able to put him down. Clara sat on the stool next to the cot, putting her hand through to gently stroke his cheek.

Ethan had been up a couple of times during the night but since they'd been up he'd barely cried once unless he was hungry. This was the first time he'd slept, but there wasn't too much that needed doing around the house. In fact right now she could stay in this exact position all day if she could, however Clara hadn't eaten since breakfast and now was probably her best chance so she grabbed the monitor and stuck it on her waistband before going down to the kitchen.

She was quite surprised to hear the knock on the door and her first instinct was to grab the monitor and make sure Ethan hadn't stirred. Thankfully all Clara could hear was his gentle breathing so she made her way to the door and opened it. "Oh, Linda hi… what are you doing here?"

"Visiting my grandson obviously?"

"He's not-" Clara started, but quickly decided against it, "he's asleep at the moment. Why are you actually here?"

Linda let herself in and Clara rolled her eyes, shutting the door. "Meeting for work - thought I'd stop by."

"You never just stop by, I know you come down to London a lot," Clara pointed out. Something was suspicious here.

"Fine, I'll get to the point. You need to stop calling your Dad so much." Linda sat herself down and crossed her arms and legs, giving Clara a stern look.

Clara took a deep breath, "just make yourself at home why don't you," she spoke under her breath before returning to the conversation. "Sorry what?"

"He's always on that damn tablet talking to you."

"We talk for an hour in the evening so he can see his grandson, why is that a problem? And why is it your problem?" Clara didn't really know where to start with all this. The whole point of getting him the iPad was to stop him having to come down so much and she hadn't seen him in person since.

Linda looked at her as if she was meant to know the answer to that. "And then he comes off the phone and it's all he'll bloody talk about. It needs to stop."

"Linda he's just become a Grandad for the first time, he's bound to be excited and it's not my job to control that. I'm sure over time we'll stop talking quite so often but it's either this or he'd be down all the time," Clara sighed, refusing to sit down herself.

Unfortunately, she couldn't seem to get through to her step-mother that this wasn't an issue. "Oh come on you're just trying to use this to get him back!"

Clara immediately shushed her, "please keep your voice down for crying out loud," she checked the monitor again. "I am doing nothing of the sort. He's my Dad, I'm allowed to talk to him. Now can you get out please before you wake him?"

"Always so polite," Linda smiled sarcastically. "So where is the little man then?" she stood up and made her way towards the stairs.

"What are you doing? You can't just go up there Linda, please I've not long got him settled," Clara followed her.

Linda kept going, "oh relax sweetheart I'm only going to have a look!"

"Volume please, he needs to rest and you need to leave right now," Clara kept on her tail as she walked into their bedroom and turned on the light.

There was nothing to stop her now when she walked over to the cot. "Well aren't you the image of your father. You got lucky." Clara groaned, running a hand through her hair trying to work out what to do. He hadn't stirred yet but then… "you want to meet your Granny don't you Ethan?" she leant in and immediately his eyes opened, as did his lungs.

"Don't you dare touch him," Clara approached her immediately, trying to get herself between Linda and her son.

"Aww he just wants a cuddle don't you," Linda kept moving and with seemingly little choice, Clara pushed her out the way and managed to grab Ethan, trying to comfort him. "Oh you will regret that."

"I really don't think I will," Clara replied. "Just get out of my house before I call the police!"

Linda rolled her eyes, "I'm sure your Dad will love to hear this story."

"I'm sure you'll put the appropriate twist on the story," she scowled, but thankfully her step-mother left shortly after, not without some serious glaring. "Oh darling it's okay, you're safe baby," she held Ethan close and walked around with him. He was screaming, the shock of the strange woman trying to pick him up clearly too much.

 _Over in Killarney, many years ago_

 _My Mother sang a song to me in tones so sweet and low,_

 _Just a simple little ditty, in her good old Irish way,_

 _And I'd give the world if she could sing that song to me this day._

 _Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral!_

She kept singing to him, this was one of her favourites from when her own Mum would sing to her as a child. Ethan liked it too, and after a few minutes he settled a little but didn't want to go back to sleep. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I'm so sorry." The interaction with Linda had tired her out, coupled with having to settle Ethan down again she could no longer stay stood up. He wouldn't even let her move him away from her chest now. "You've only just been fed sweetie, you're not hungry are you? Are you scared? She's gone now."

Ethan kept nuzzling into her so Clara decided to use the cloth sling, wrapping him up tight and close. "That better sweetheart? Nice and close," she stood back up and made her way downstairs, finally able to eat the food she was sorting and sit down properly.

By the time she'd finished eating he was dropping off again. Clara kissed his head softly, humming to him quietly to help Ethan drop to sleep. As he fell asleep so did she, finally giving in to the fatigue from the afternoon.

Danny woke her when he got in from work, albeit a little reluctantly as the sight of his two favourite people sleeping was wonderful. "Hey, everything okay?" he whispered as she stirred.

"Mmm," she rubbed her eyes a little, moving to sit up slightly but being careful not to wake him. "Yeah, sorry must have dropped off once he'd settled. He wanted to be close," Clara looked down to Ethan and kissed his head. "He was really good his morning and then Linda turned up."

"What?" Danny moved to sit beside her on the sofa. "What did she want?"

"I _think_ she wanted to persuade me to stop talking to my Dad," Clara sighed, the events coming back to her. "To be honest she might have succeeded."

"Don't be silly you wouldn't stop talking to him," Danny rubbed her back.

Shaking her head Clara sat up a little more. "I think Dad might stop talking to me actually. I kinda attacked his wife."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "really?"

"She wouldn't leave! I asked so many times for her to be quiet, she just walked up to our room and woke up Ethan and he was terrified, I had to stop her Danny. But she'll tell him, she'll have phoned him straight away." Clara reached for her husband's hand. "It's fine, it's a problem for another day. Need to focus on Ethan now."

He squeezed her hand in reassurance, "he's stirring now."

"Yeah, he'll be hungry. As am I, dinner?" she asked and smiled up at him.

"Consider me cooking," he kissed her quickly and jumped up.

#-#-#-#

A few weeks after Danny had gone back to work and Clara woke up at 6am completely confused. She carefully climbed out of bed and walked over to the cot to check on Ethan who was smiling in his sleep and Clara let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. "Don't scare Mummy like that," she muttered under her breath and grabbed the nearby stool - she liked to sit and watch him sleep.

"Everything okay?" Danny replied sleepily and sat up behind her.

She nodded, "he slept through. I fed him at half 11 and he's still asleep."

Danny got out of bed now and walked around, standing behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders, massaging gently while he looked down at his son. "Clever boy," he smiled.

"Mmm very clever boy," she agreed, "I just hope that doesn't mean he won't sleep during the day because I need to get some housework done."

He chuckled, "you'll just have to take it as it comes. Don't worry about the house it can wait," Danny leant down and kissed her. "Why don't you go get yourself sorted while you've got a chance."

Clara smiled gratefully and stood up, going off to shower. Just as she'd left the room Ethan began to wake up, stretching his tiny limbs and making small noises as if he was ready to grizzle. Danny immediately picked him up, "hey little man. We're going to let Mummy get ready in peace aren't we?" he started to go downstairs. "Yes. Good boy, we'll get you fed downstairs I know there's some milk to be had."

Thankfully Danny was able to sort him a bottle and fed him, sitting down on the sofa. "Clever boy. You're 3 months old tomorrow, how did that happen eh?" Ethan happily fed on the bottle and they knew he liked being spoken too, especially since the incident with Linda he liked to know his parents were around. That reminded him - he needed to call Dave. Clara's Dad hadn't spoken to her since Linda had been around and it was upsetting her, whatever she said.

Ethan finished up the bottle and Danny put it down so he could reposition his son to wind him. "Ooo good boy, better out than in eh?"

Clara rolled her eyes as she walked in, "you are going to teach that boy bad habits."

"Just fulfilling my fatherly duties," he replied. "You look lovely."

"Flattery will get you most places, but not right now. I'll put the kettle on and then take him so you can get ready for work." Clara went to the kitchen to make tea.

Danny stood up, still patting Ethan's back softly. "You going to be good for Mummy today? I know you can be." As if on cue, Ethan burped, gurgled and squealed a little. "Yes exactly." He walked through to the kitchen where Clara was just stirring the teas. "He's getting quite grabby," Danny commented as Ethan somehow got hold of his Dad's ear.

Clara laughed at his current predicament, "yes he is. That's why I've not worn a necklace or earrings the last couple of days." She put her mug down, "stop trying to pull Daddy's ear off you cheeky monkey." Clara grabbed his hand and he took her finger immediately which she waved a little to make him giggle. "Come on then you, we'd better let Daddy get ready."

Danny handed Ethan to her, promising not to be too long and taking his tea with him. Clara walked through to the lounge and decided to experiment with something, placing Ethan down slowly on his sensory mat. He immediately started grizzling but Clara started moving some of the hanging objects and as she'd hoped - this distracted him. Wriggling around he started reaching for them, evidently amused everytime he accidentally made one wobble. She stayed on the floor, watching him and occasionally helping out and speaking to him to reassure him she was still there. "Hey look at that he's on the floor!" Danny commented when he came back downstairs.

"Mmm having a great time too aren't we kiddo?" she rubbed his cheek a little. "I'm going to try something else…" Clara slowly stood up and walked over to the table where she'd left her tea, picking it up.

"Well look at that he's distracted," Danny replied. "I'm going to sort breakfast - I'll get you some too."

"Thanks, I think leaving the room might be a step too far," Clara smiled and sat on the sofa watching him play, sipping at her tea - it was quite special to drink hot tea at the moment. She decided to make use of the moment to quickly dust down the sides, occasionally interacting with Ethan to keep him settled.

Danny rolled his eyes when he walked back in, "just sit down for a second love."

"I've just finished, I'm making the most of his downtime," she smiled, taking the bowl from him. "You're a star."

They ate breakfast while Ethan continued to entertain himself with a purple elephant. Clara rested her head down on Danny's shoulder to watch him, smiling softly. "I need to get going," he broke their silence. "Not that I want to."

"Mmm," she complained. "When will you be back tonight?"

"4, you're meeting Grace tonight so I'll leave straight away."

"Oh yeah it's Tuesday, thanks for the reminder," she sat up. "Have a great day."

Danny kissed her and stood up. "Look after yourself yeah?" Clara nodded, watching him go. Once he had she slipped down onto the floor to lie alongside Ethan's mat and playing with him.

He seemed so happy today, more so than she'd seen him before. "You're my special boy, I'm so lucky."

Clara could have quite happily stayed there all day but was interrupted by the door being knocked which forced her to stand up. She glanced at the clock and realised she'd been laying there for a good 2 hours which probably explained why her side was now numb. Somehow Ethan was still entertained so she made her way to the door and opened it. "Oh, James hi... come on in I guess?" she moved out of the way but Ethan had clearly noticed she was no longer in the room and started screaming. "Sorry, shut the door behind you," she ran in and picked him up. "It's okay darling it's okay," she jiggled him gently.

James joined her in the living room having taken his shoes and coat off out of politeness. "Do you want me to stick the kettle on?"

"Why are you here?" Clara kept trying to settle Ethan, "sorry I didn't mean to sound so harsh it's just… well, we haven't been in the same room alone since we split."

"I know, I'm sorry to just turn up but I needed to talk to you. It's been a long time since we split and things have moved on for both of us. We both have children…" James looked ridiculously nervous, his hands clasped together.

Clara sighed, "right okay just sit down and I'll go and make the tea. You take the child, I'm going to be singing just go with it." James didn't argue, taking Ethan who looked distinctly confused but was no longer screaming. Clara went into the kitchen to make tea, singing one of Ethan's favourite songs as she went to keep him happy.

 _Lullaby and goodnight,_

 _With roses bedight,_

 _With lilies o'er spread_

 _Is baby's wee bed._

 _Lay thee down now and rest,_

 _May thy slumber be blessed…_

She returned with the tea and placed his mug down, taking Ethan back once she'd sat down on the sofa. He immediately grabbed onto her hair and Clara had to prize it out of his hand carefully, "I love you but you gotta stop that kiddo." She reached over and managed to grab a toy on the floor for him to hold. "There we go."

"You're really good with him, he loves your voice - his eyes were searching for you the whole time you were singing," James smiled. "You're a great Mum."

"It's a good day," Clara replied, "so why are you here?"

James nodded, "right yeah… I wanted to talk to you first because the last thing I want to do is upset you. I know it's kinda late for that but just go with me here. I'm thinking about asking Grace to marry me…"

Clara didn't reply straight away and instead found herself looking down at Ethan as he seemed to be trying to pull his toy apart. Thankfully for the rabbit, he didn't quite have the strength yet to cause any injury. She knew this day would come for Grace and James, they were close and Grace was happy. She also knew that she was married and happy with a son and she really shouldn't be feeling any significant emotion for this. "Why are you asking me? It's been years."

"It still happened. We were still there once. You're Grace's best friend, I know how hard it was to accept her back and I also know you still don't like seeing me very much," he replied quietly.

Without looking up Clara nodded, not going to deny what he said. "To be honest James what I think about you is irrelevant. You make my best friend happy, you're a good Dad to your daughter. I'm not going to stop you or complain and I'll be there for Grace all the way," Clara was honest with him, and she looked up now. "But I swear if you _ever_ do to her what you did to me I'll hunt you down and it will be much worse than the first time around. Got that?"

James nodded, "absolutely. I swear I won't it's-"

"Don't try and explain it. I know. We were never going to work James, we both knew that even before it all happened. I never truly got over Danny leaving and you… well I don't really know but there we go. Ask her, and also appreciate I have to spend a whole evening with Grace tonight and I can't tell her," Clara smiled a little.

"I'll owe you," he also smiled. "Thank you Clara, for everything."

"Oh you better be. Why aren't you at work anyway?" she asked, pulling on the rabbit slightly to entertain Ethan.

"Working from home today," he pointed out.

Clara nodded, "mm yes I can see that."

James rolled his eyes, "you have not changed one bit."

"You have. You're skiving from work!" she smiled. "I'm glad you're relaxing a bit."

"You were always right, I needed to slow down."

She nodded, "I usually was." Ethan interrupted the conversation there, deciding he was hungry. "Ah, mind if I-"

"Go for it, I should get going anyway I do actually need to do some sort of work today and I'm picking Lizzie up from the childminder just after lunch. It was good to see you - genuinely." James stood up and took his mug through to wash up. He reappeared and grabbed his coat.

Clara started feeding Ethan while James sorted himself out. "I'll see you soon then. Make sure Grace phones me straight away." They both knew she would.

Once he'd seen himself out the house was quiet again and Clara sat back, watching Ethan and thinking over what he'd said.

#-#-#-#

"You are on another planet tonight, Danny said Ethan slept through?" Grace stopped what she was previously talking about to get Clara's attention back.

Clara was jolted from her mind wandering, looking back. Grace had been discussing relationship things which was exactly what she didn't need tonight with the secret she was now keeping. "Sorry, yeah he did. Guess I still have a lot of sleep to catch up on. He's been really good today though, even let me put him down as long as I was in the same room."

"Progress," Grace replied. "And you're really doing okay?"

"Yeah I am, honestly. It's actually easier than I expected," Clara replied. "Just gets a bit lonely some days. I've started taking him out and things but I'm so used to having people to talk to all the time, or children asking me questions."

Grace smiled in sympathy, "I know how it feels. You should get yourself to one of the mother and baby groups - the one I went to was great and you can meet other Mums there. I promise you you'll enjoy it."

She'd been trying to get her to go for a couple of weeks now but Clara wasn't really sure. "Go on, just go tomorrow for me. If you don't like it you don't have to go again it's not like a subscription."

"Okay, alright I'll try it. Promise. But if I don't like it then you owe me a huge glass of wine," Clara grinned, finally feeling properly back in the room.

"Deal. Might buy you one now anyway to settle your nerves," Grace winked and went up to the counter, ordering for them.


	35. Chapter 35

Maybe she didn't want to admit it but this group wasn't so bad. She'd walked in with the pram and immediately someone ran over to help her. Turns out it was one of the 'leaders', Andrea, who turned out to be the woman Grace had spoken about. She explained how everything worked, where she could leave the pushchair and pointed out the refreshments trolley. Clara found herself sat on the floor where most of the parents with young babies seemed to congregate. It was a little separated so as not to be hit by flying toys from the toddlers and had plenty of mats and objects that they could interact with as such a young age.

"He's such a beautiful boy, how old?" one of the other Mums started the conversation.

Clara looked up, "16 weeks, born prem but he's growing really well," she smiled. "I see you're balancing two?"

She nodded, "identical twin girls. Just over 6 months now, but they keep themselves company quite a lot - sometimes wonder why I'm around."

"Until they want feeding," Clara pointed out and they both smiled. "Clara," she introduced herself.

"Jen, good to meet you. It's your first week right?" she asked.

"Yep, my friend kinda forced me to come. I was going crazy in the house all the time, I think she was right - but I'm not going to admit that too quickly, I'll never hear the end of it," Clara explained, glancing back down to make sure Ethan was alright but he seemed very happily distracted by the stars dangling above him. "He's reaching peak grabbing stage now, absolutely loves anything in reach."

Jen nodded knowingly, "Esther loves to grab at things constantly but Lucy just looks at everything, always observing the world around her. She's obsessed with her hands too, constantly looking at them although not actually doing much with them - except occasionally trying to eat them," she gestured to one of the girls who was indeed trying to stuff her hand in her mouth while her sister was grabbing at her arm, almost trying to pull it out again.

It was nice to be talking to another Mum, Clara decided. She wasn't sure how she'd feel, maybe scared of being inadequate, but it was quite fun. "They're very lovely girls. A handful I'm sure."

"Absolutely, very interesting on my own. We're lucky though, he's only working part-time at the moment so I have a second pair of hands most of the time. How about you - someone else at home?" Jen asked.

Clara nodded, distracted for a second by a grizzling Ethan so picking him up for a moment. "Yeah, husband. We both teach so he's gone back now, but trying not to stay late too much. My friends all teach as well so Monday to Friday can be a bit frustrating at times," she explained. "Ethan is being pretty good now though, sleeping through the night a lot. Can't leave you alone though can we chicken?"

Jen smiled at the interaction between Clara and Ethan. "Ah, clingy one?"

"Very. We had a little… incident, a few weeks back with my step-mother and I think it spooked him. Won't be anywhere that Danny or I aren't which makes housework interesting, but we get around it," she kissed his head as he settled and lay him back down with a toy to try and pull apart as a distraction. "After the scary start he had I'm just grateful for every moment."

There was an understanding nod, "when was he born? If you don't mind me asking. It's different when you're not expecting it I'm sure. We knew these two would be early - 36 weeks in the end so they did really well."

Clara couldn't help but let her mind wander back to seeing Ethan in the incubator - so small and fragile. She took a deep breath, "8 weeks. I went into labour 2 days before Christmas - sort of ruined the festive spirit a bit. Everything was a bit touch and go for a while," she spoke quietly. "He made it though, we're here."

"You certainly are. He's a very handsome little boy," Jen smiled. "You did the right thing coming here. It's good to be able to share," she added.

"It is, thanks for listening - I'm not very good at all this," Clara sighed. "Obviously Danny and I talk, but-"

"It's alright, there's something about talking to other mothers that helps. Tell you what, if you keep an eye on these two for a sec I'll go grab teas."

#-#-#-#

It seemed the playgroup tired him out and Ethan napped on and off during the afternoon. When Danny returned from work he found Clara cooking dinner with Ethan in his bed in the living room, in sight of the kitchen door. "He's zonked out, what have you done to him?"

Clara mock laughed at him as he walked in, kissing him quickly. "Been sleeping quite a bit. He was very active at playgroup so probably tired him out. So far this afternoon he's woken up, fed, kicked at things hanging from the mat and gone back to sleep again. Repeat ad infinitum," she smiled. "But it does mean I can actually cook for you today."

"Well I'm looking forward to it," he slipped his jacket off and put his bag down.

Once the dinner was under control Clara turned around, "what's up?" she asked. Danny looked up at her, "you can't fool me Danny Pink. Something's happened - tell me what's up."

Danny sighed, she knew him far too well. "Alright, I had an email from an old friend. Apparently a bunch of the lads are meeting up in a couple of weeks and they want me to join."

"And you aren't sure because you're scared it'll bring back memories," Clara replied, walking over and placing her hands on his chest, "it won't happen again."

The touch of her hands was comforting, but also a reminder of why he was scared. He reached up and gripped her hands softly. "I don't know that."

"I do," she squeezed his hands in return, "it'll remind you of the good times that maybe you've forgotten."

"I can't hurt you again," he replied quietly.

Clara shook her head, "you won't, I promise. Just tell them you'll go - it doesn't have to be for long. I know you want to." Before Danny could reply, Ethan woke up and started crying when he couldn't see either parent. "Go on, he'll tell you exactly the same," she smiled and went back to the dinner.

Without argument, Danny walked over to his son and picked him up carefully. "Hey little one, it's alright we're right here." He quickly settled, snuggling into his father. Danny looked down as he wriggled a little to get comfortable and occasionally made a little squeak. "You're a clever little boy aren't you, so alert. You know I'd never hurt you or your Mum ever, you're the most precious people in my life." There was a small sneeze in his arms which made Danny smile, "you're so beautifully innocent my boy." Ethan snuggled closer, almost as if he knew his Dad needed him. "Good lad," he leant down and kissed his forehead. "Let's have a play shall we? I fancy dangling some animals above your head."

After she'd dished up Clara took the plates out and smiled when she saw Danny interacting with Ethan. "He adores you," she commented. "Shall we try and give him some tummy time while we eat?"

"On your head be it," Danny shrugged, smiling and carefully turning Ethan onto his front. Immediately his face looked a little disgruntled - tummy time was not his favourite thing, but hopefully, he was in a good enough mood to withstand a few minutes today. Once he was settled Danny sat back, taking his plate from Clara who sat down with him. They ate together, watching Ethan staring at the toys that Danny had placed in front of him. "So you gonna go back next week? To the group?"

Finishing the mouthful of food she had, Clara nodded. "Yeah, it's a good escape from these four walls. Plus free tea and biscuits," she shrugged.

Danny chuckled, "well you can't complain at that can you?"

"Definitely not. How was work?" she changed the conversation, having not asked him yet.

He took a moment to reply, "well after lunch I guess I was a bit distracted. Nothing particularly exciting otherwise."

"Liar again. What is with you tonight?" Clara sighed.

"Sorry, I don't know why I bothered even trying not to tell you. Grace thought it would be better if you didn't know, things will probably blow over before you're back anyway," he replied.

Frustrated, Clara put her now finished plate to the side and head in her hands briefly, "just tell me what's going on."

"Henry's been talking to David. Between them they're becoming quite a bitter force," he explained.

"Against me," she nodded. "Why did you and Grace decide I shouldn't be privy to this bit of information?"

"As I said, it'll probably all have blown over when you come back. We didn't think it was worth you worrying about… Grace is dealing with it, I'm sorry we kept quiet," he replied.

Clara nodded, but there was something else to mention. "Why is it bothering you so much today?"

Finally she turned to look at him, assessing his facial expressions while he replied. "I had a bit of a run-in with Henry this afternoon. He just made another dig and I lost it a bit in the staffroom. Don't worry I didn't punch him or anything just gave him a piece of my mind to shut him up."

"Did it work?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yes-"

"Thank you," she leant in and kissed him. "I mean - maybe don't do it again, but it's nice to know you're still my knight in shining armour. Just please don't feel like you need to lie to me about this all, I'm okay Danny, we're doing okay. We're in this together," Clara took his hand and squeezed it. "Promise me?"

"I promise," he squeezed her hand back and smiled. "I'm sorry, I promise I'll keep you updated for now. In the meantime I think we'd better get Ethan off his tummy before he starts screaming the house down," Danny commented as he noticed his face completely shrivel up. Clara took his plate so he could jump down and pick him up. "Right then kiddo, what do you fancy doing? Aeroplanes?"

Clara chuckled, clearing away the plates while Danny lay on the floor zooming Ethan around in the air. Ethan suddenly started giggling much to his parents' delight. "Clever clever boy!" she gave up on the washing up for a minute and ran in to join with the fun. "You are so, so clever," she lay down on the floor with Danny and started to tickle Ethan's tummy. "You funny little boy, cheeky little monkey."

"Giggle monster," Danny chuckled lay Ethan down on his chest. "Oh what an awesome little family we have."

"Can't complain," Clara smiled. "Moments like this remind me how lucky I am."

"It's weird how things worked out isn't it?" Danny commented as Ethan settled a little on his chest. "How different things could have been…"

"Mmm, I don't want to think about it. All about the future now - this little one is our future. Grace and James have their future too," she smiled and carefully stroked Ethan's cheek. "We're all happy now." Ethan gurgled, "yep. All of us."

Danny smiled, "always together."

"Always."

#-#-#-#

The knocking on the door was suprise enough - it was rare they got unexpected visitors at the moment. What was even more surprising was that it was currently 11pm on a Friday night. Danny was upstairs settling Ethan so Clara went to the door and opened it and was immediately greeted with a crying Grace who rushed inside. She shut the door again and went after her, "what's going on? Grace?" she grabbed her arm to stop her pacing and Grace immediately hugged her friend.

"I've just messed up so badly," she finally spoke after a couple of minutes sobbing into Clara's shoulder. They sat down on the sofa and Clara handed her the mug of tea she'd just made for Danny - he could remake his own later.

"Okay, deep breaths. What happened?" Clara replied while Grace carefully sipped her tea - still shaking a little.

After a couple of breaths she managed to explain. "James proposed tonight," Grace started.

Clara didn't even try to look surprised, now wasn't the time. "Okay, isn't that a good thing?"

"I- yeah, I guess? I just freaked out completely and ran out, I didn't know what to do. It just reminded me of everything that happened and how much I let you down, this whole relationship was born out of a mess and a lie." Grace let tears fall as she explained. "I feel a fraud even coming to you about this, I must sound so selfish."

Intervention was needed now, "Grace just… stop. First of all I'm going to text James and let him know you're safe because he will be panicking. I take it Lizzie is with your Mum?"

"Yeah, sleeping there," she replied quietly.

Once she'd sent a quick text to James telling him to stay away for now Clara looked back to her friend, "good. That's 2 out of 2 dealt with. Now tell me honestly, forgetting everything that happened between us, do you want to marry James?"

There was a short silence before a small nod. "I love him, he's been amazing to me and he's such a good Dad. We have such a great routine now and so often I'll get home to little messages or flowers… I feel so lucky."

"It's been almost 2 years since everything first happened with us, which makes it almost 3 years that you two have been together. The very fact that you've lasted so long despite me finding out and having an unexpected child you're still together," Clara told her. "Besides, James came to see me last week. I knew he was going to propose."

That caught Grace's attention, "you knew?"

Clara nodded, "yeah. I didn't know when but I knew it was coming. I couldn't exactly tell you about it."

"Well yeah I guess," Grace sighed. "What do I do?"

"Go back, explain, say what you really want to say and not what you think you should. And then send me a picture of the ring because I bet it's beautiful. It'll be okay, James will understand," Clara told him. "Finish your tea if you need a minute, but then go."

"You're right… as long as-"

"I'm fine with it!" Clara rolled her eyes. "Finish that, I'll be back in a sec." Clara left her on the sofa and went upstairs to find Danny sat on their bed. "Oh, I thought you were coming back downstairs."

Danny put his book down, "I got half way down and heard what was going on, thought that was a conversation for you."

She smiled, "true. It's nearly finished now - just need…" she searched in the drawer by her bed. "Aha! This. 2 minutes and you'll be free to come downstairs." Clara went back down to Grace.

"Where did you go?" Grace asked, putting her now empty mug down on the table.

Clara showed her the box, "this - Grace - is the first birthday present you ever bought me after you started at the school. It's sat in the drawer by my bed everyday since, even when I moved here it's still there. I never once removed it, even when we fell out. This has always been the symbol of our friendship and how important you are to me. Take it with you as a reminder that we are and always will be best friends."

Grace took the box which contained a small charm she'd bought her all those years ago. "I can't believe you still have it. I never saw you wear it-"

"So you assumed I'd chucked it? No way. We started that job together and it's the best thing that ever happened to me, so go and be happy before he gets bored and goes to bed," she grinned and practically pushed her up and towards the front door. "I await your message."

"Thank you, don't know what I'd do without you Clara," Grace smiled and ran back to her car.

When she returned to the living room she found Danny sat on the sofa, arm out ready for her to slip into. Clara did so, resting her head on his shoulder and lifting her legs up - grabbing the TV remote as she did and flicking it on. "I'm thinking 20 minutes?"

"Mm, give them a few minutes getting used to it, maybe 30," Danny replied and chuckled. "You're an amazing friend, this can't be easy for you."

Clara shrugged, not really replying to that. Sure it was weird, it would always be weird, but she loved her best friend and if she was honest, she wanted James to be happy too. She already had her happy ending, she was lying with it right now. It was time to move on and let them have their moment together. "We're moving on, all of us - properly this time. They'll get married, I'll be there. Our kids will be friends, there's so much to have in the future without focussing on the past."

Kissing the top of her head gently, Danny smiled. How she could be so strong he would never understand, but he did know he would always support her, whatever she decided. As long as Clara was okay that was all that mattered. "You are so brilliant," he commented and they sat together in silence, TV on but neither of them truly paying attention.

It was, as Clara expected, 20 minutes later that her phone went and she opened the message to show the photo of Grace, James and most importantly - the ring. There were tears in both their eyes, and Clara could also just spot the box she'd given Grace in her other hand too. She quickly realised they weren't the only one with tears and went to wipe them away but Danny got there before her.

He carefully rubbed the tears away, "happy tears?" Danny asked and she nodded. "I'm so proud of you, you're amazing."

"Don't know about that. Come on, let's get to bed - busy day tomorrow and it's been a slightly draining night. Plus I want to snuggle."

#-#-#-#

4am Sunday morning and Clara climbed back into bed for the third time that night curling back close to Danny for warmth. Ethan was restless and she couldn't work out why, he'd been so good at sleeping recently. "Mm you okay? You need to let me get up next time."

Clara thought she'd got away with it, "sorry you were still asleep I didn't want to wake you," she kissed him gently. "I don't know what's got into him tonight, but I'm knackered."

"Then sleep, and let me go next time. No excuses about working, it's Sunday," he grinned and kissed her head. "Sleep, I love you."

"Love you."

Danny did get up the next time, but when Ethan woke up at 8 she knew this was her turn as he needed feeding and there was no more expressed milk for him. Clara sighed, she had probably managed about 4 hours sleep over the night and was really not in the mood. Eventually, she climbed out of bed and went over to the cot, "come on then you, we'll go downstairs," she picked him up and carried him down where they sat down on the sofa and she let him feed. Normally Clara would chat or sing as he fed but she couldn't find the energy right now. Danny came down about 10 minutes into the silence and looked confused.

He walked over to her, "everything okay?"

"Yeah he's just hungry, standard feed time at the moment anyway," she replied.

"I wasn't asking about Ethan," he sat down. "You don't look yourself."

Without looking up, Clara was quick to reply. "I've had next to no sleep and I've only just got up so just give me time." She kept watching Ethan but he was nearly done.

Danny didn't reply to her now, waiting for Ethan to finish feeding. He stood up again and went to the kitchen to make tea, taking the mugs back in and putting hers down on the table beside her. Ethan finished feeding and Clara carefully lay him down on the sensory mat before sitting back. "Is it safe to talk yet?"

"I'm sorry, got out the wrong side of the bed," she sighed and put her hands round the mug of tea.

"I can guarantee you didn't - I would have felt that," he winked and Clara did smile slightly. "That's better. Can I make you breakfast?"

"Only if it involves bacon and eggs," she replied.

Danny nodded. "Deal. I'll keep an eye on Ethan too if you want to freshen up or anything?"

"That would be amazing. Thank you, see you soon," she stood up and went back upstairs.

For some reason, despite planning to go in the shower she ended up simply sat on the bed and staring out the window. The peace of the room and the moment alone just gave her some sense of stillness that she hadn't felt in weeks. She pulled her knees up to her chest and just watched as the rain fell outside.

When she hadn't returned 20 minutes later Danny started to wonder. She knew breakfast wouldn't be long, and there were no sounds suggesting movement upstairs. Maybe she'd fallen asleep, it wouldn't surprise him. He was just about to nip upstairs when Ethan woke up from the nap he'd been taking. "That didn't last long," Danny turned around and went over to him. "What you crying for now little man? You're not very happy are you?" Danny had checked his temperature overnight but decided to do it again - still fine. "Bad day hm? Come on sweetheart, settle down now. Do we need Mummy to sing? Let's go see where she's got to."

They went upstairs. Ethan was grizzling still and Danny tried to bounce him a little in his arms. He pushed open their bedroom door and saw Clara sat there, staring out of the window. She hadn't changed or showered, something just didn't seem right. This would be better dealt with without a baby in his arms but there was little choice. "Clara?" No response. He walked over, "talk to me."

"Please, just take him away, I need some peace," she spoke without looking up.

Danny looked at her, concerned about her behaviour. "Clara what-"

"Just _please_ leave the room," Clara interrupted him.

He wasn't going to argue, not with Ethan in his arms. First, he needed to get his son to sleep, then he could try and get to the bottom of Clara's mood swings. "Maybe try and get some sleep love, I'll take him out for some fresh air. Call me if you need me?"

With that comment, she did move and lay down on the bed and curling up. Shuffling Ethan carefully into one arm he grabbed the blanket with his now free hand and lay it over her before leaving the room and going to sort out Ethan to go for a walk. He made another decision and grabbed his day bag. He had to hope this plan would work.


End file.
